BENGALURU: The state government is all set to review several centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) in the coming months and take a call on whether they should be supported or done away with from the next year.
The Fiscal Management Review Committee (FMRC) headed by Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee, which met recently, decided to set up a committee to review all these schemes. Following the fiscal devolution, the Central funds for CSS have come down from `11,721 crore in the fiscal 2014-2015 to `7,031 crore in 2015-16. Sources said that JnNURM, mid-day meal scheme, rural sanitation programme among others come under the CSS, which are jointly funded by the Centre and the state. “Category B schemes, where the Central share is less than 50 per cent, are likely to be the first casualty,” a source pointed out.
The proposed committee will have a mandate to explore dovetailing of existing CSS with sectoral development goals of the state creating ‘flexible fiscal space’ by de-linking CSS.
Speaking to Express, I S N Prasad, Principal Secretary (Finance), confirmed on setting up a committee to review CSS. “It has become inevitable for the state government to do away with certain schemes where the Centre cut down its share of grants drastically,” he said.
Maintaining that there is no immediate plan to wind up CSS, including JnNRUM, MGNREGS and other schemes, he said, “The expert committee which could come into existence in a month or two will take the decision after a review.”
Stating that the state was waiting for a sharing ratio to be fixed by the Centre, Prasad said, “Once that is done, the expert committee would shortlist these schemes.”
The FMRC’s suggestions are significant as the state finance is broadly guided by them, the sources said.