BHUBANESWAR: A 15-member team of the 16th Finance Commission headed by Arvind Panagariya arrived on a four-day visit to Odisha on Tuesday.
The Commission is scheduled to hold a meeting with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, his cabinet and senior officials of the state government on Thursday.
The government will submit a memorandum of financial demand to the Commission during the meeting. The state cabinet chaired by the chief minister had recently approved a demand of Rs 12,56,148 crore for the next five years. The 15th Finance Commission (FC) headed by NK Singh had recommended a transfer of Rs 2.22 lakh crore to Odisha for five years from 2021 to 2026, against a demand of Rs 8.24 lakh crore.
The Commission members visited Khandagiri, Udayagiri and Kalabhoomi on the day. On Wednesday, they will visit Puri to seek the blessings of Lord Jagannath and also go to Sun Temple in Konark.