5 Finance Ministers, Puducherry CM to meet Prez over 15th Finance Commission
The Finance Ministers of Delhi, Kerala, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and the Chief Minister of Puducherry will meet President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday to complain about the "unfair" terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia tweeted about the meeting on Wednesday evening.
Finance ministers of Delhi, Kerala, West Bengal, Andhra, Punjab & CM Puducherry to meet Hon'ble President of India tomorrow evening on unfair Terms of Reference of 15th Finance Commission
— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) May 16, 2018
"We will explain the damage that will be caused to states because of the ToR of the 15th Finance Commission and seek his intervention,” Andhra Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said in a press release.
The Finance Ministers of the states and Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayansami met on April 10 and said that they would submit a joint memorandum to the President on the terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission.
On May 7, at a conclave convened by the Andhra Pradesh government, finance ministers from 11 states decided to seek President Ram Nath Kovind's intervention to reframe them.
"The present ToR indicate a move towards central discretion in the release of funds to states. What the states want is the opposite. We want a financial regime in which there is a decisive move away from discretionary to assured devolutions," Yanamala Ramakrishnudu had then said.
The southern states protested that they would lose out because of the commission's decision to use the 2011 population census instead of 1971 as a basis for devolution of taxes from the central government to the states, as they had successfully controlled their population.
"Centre asks 15th FC to use 2011 census data instead of 1971 census used so far to determine devolution of taxes. This will further affect the interests of the south. We need to resist," outgoing Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in a tweet on March 23.
He also tagged the Chief Ministers of other southern states in the tweet.
With IANS inputs