Arun Kumar Panda
Arun Kumar Panda

Odisha's 6th SFC to be headed by Arun Panda, to submit report in six months

The commission has been mandated to recommend the government on the determination of grant-in-aid to the PRIs and ULBs from the Consolidated Fund of the state.
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BHUBANESWAR : The state government on Wednesday constituted a five-member 6th State Finance Commission (SFC) headed by retired IAS officer Arun Kumar Panda to recommend the formula for devolution of taxes collected from different sources between the state, three-tire panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies.

A notification issued by the Finance department said that the commission apart from suggesting about the principles for distribution of state’s own taxes, duties, toll and fees among PRIs and ULBs will also recommend measures needed to improve their financial position.

The commission has been mandated to recommend the government on the determination of grant-in-aid to the PRIs and ULBs from the Consolidated Fund of the state. The panel has to address how to bridge the functional and financial gap of the local bodies during the course of discharging and implementing government schemes.

It will also review the revenue resources of the local bodies for five years, commencing from April 1, 2026 on the basis of levels of taxation reached in 2023-24, and set target for additional resource mobilisation. The SFC has to suggest the scope for better fiscal management consistent with the need for speed, efficiency, cost effective service delivery and the need for providing adequate incentive for better resource mobilisation as well as closely linking expenditure and revenue raising decisions.

“For the purpose of assessment of supplementing the resources of 3-tier panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies by the Central Finance Commission, the commission shall follow a normative approach in the assessment of revenues and expenditure rather than make forecasts based on historical trends,” the notification said.

The commission has been asked to submit its report within six months covering an award period of five years from April 1, 2026. The 5th State Finance commission was set on May 5, 2018 which took 15 months time to submit its report to the government on August 2, 2019.

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