By Haryananewswire
CHANDIGARH, APRIL
26
The Fourth State
Finance Commission, Haryana has recommended financial devolution of Rs.
680.32 crore for the year 2013-14, including Rs. 442.21 crore for Panchayati
Raj Institutions and Rs. 238.11 crore for Urban Local Bodies through the
mechanism of global sharing of state own tax revenues. This devolution is over
and above the funds already being transferred to these bodies through state
excise, stamp duty, surcharge on VAT, grants of 13th Finance Commission and
other budgetary transfers.
This was stated by Mr.
L.S.M. Salins, Chairman, Fourth State Finance Commission, Haryana while
presenting the interim report of the Commission for the period up to 2013-14 to
the Haryana Governor at Haryana Raj Bhavan here today.
Mr. Salins explained
that resource base of local bodies is very poor as compared to their vast
responsibilities. As such, these bodies need larger funds for discharging their
Constitutional duties of providing minimum acceptable levels of civic
amenities.
He informed that the
4th State Finance commission was constituted by the State Government to
recommend sharing of state revenues with the rural and urban local bodies and
also to suggest measures of augmentation of their internal resources. He said
that the state Government had requested the Commission to recommend substantial
funds for continuing on-going schemes of local bodies. As a result, the
Commission decided to submit its interim report as larger funds were required
to be transferred to the Panchayats and the Municipalities during 2013-14 for
strengthening of rural and urban infrastructure.
The Chairman said that
while framing its scheme of fiscal transfers, the Commission over-viewed the
fiscal capacities and status of core civic services of local bodies as also
financial position of the State. He was hopeful that this financial devolution
would be sufficient to meet the expenditure needs of local bodies on
establishment and operation and maintenance cost of basic public services.But
at the same time, he also cautioned that local bodies would need to fully
utilize their enabling taxation powers and raising internal resources through
their own efforts in order to be able to work as viable and effective units of
local governance.
He reiterated that the
approach of the Commission has been guided by the Constitutional objectives of
empowerment of local bodies through the process of democratic decentralization
and the principles of equity and efficiency aiming at providing citizens of
each unit of government a comparable standard of services. However, the
distribution criteria of the Commission takes into account the issues like
socio-economic backwardness, fiscal capacities and financial needs of local
bodies, he added.
After receiving the
Interim Report, the Haryana Governor Mr Jagan Nath Paharia, noted very
carefully the basic contents of the report in regard to fiscal transfers and
particularly the functional transfers to the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
The Governor
elaborated the main planks of the democratic decentralization and advised the
Chairman and Members of the Commission to lay down the general principles in
their final report on functional empowerment of these institutions so that the
citizens and the elected representatives of these bodies have a feeling of
their direct involvement in policy making and programme implementation at the
grass-root level.
Mr Jagan Nath Paharia
thanked the Chairman and Members of the Commission for preparing the interim
report in a decent way at a very short notice.
The Chairman and
Members of the Commission, while thanking the Governor, felt enriched of his
suggestions and assured him their incorporation in the final report of the
Commission.
The other Members of
the Commission, who were also present on the occasion included Mr. Subhash
Sudha, Mr. Brahampal Rana and Mr. Shiv Lal Katyal all Members and Mr.
L.B. Langayan, IAS (Retd.), Member Secretary and other Senior Officers of the
Commission namely Mr. Gian Singh Kamboj and Mr. Ajay Thakur.
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