Dona Paula: The Goa government, in its presentation before the 16th Finance Commission led by Dr. Arvind Panagariya, has demanded a four-fold rise in their share from the divisible pool.
A delegation of the Goa government, led by CM Dr. Pramod Sawant, comprising State Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte, State Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho, State Social Welfare Minister Subhash Phal Desai, and others, made a presentation before the commission on Thursday at a starred hotel in Dona Paula, near here.
He said that the Goa government has suggested an increase in their divisible pool under the 16th Finance Commission from 0.386 percent to 1.76 percent.
Goa has also demanded funding for its 13 different projects in various sectors, amounting to Rs 32,706 crore.
Other members of the commission, including Rahul Jain, Dr. Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Annie Mathew, Ajay Jha, Dr. Manoj Panda, and Ritvik Pandey, were also present for the meeting on Thursday.
He said that Goa made a presentation suggesting that the centre’s share to the state should be increased from 41 percent to 50 percent. “This is a common recommendation that has been coming from the states. Goa is the 15th state we are visiting. 14 out of 15 states have said that the share should be increased to 50 percent; one state has suggested that it should be 45 percent,” the FC chairman said.
In their representation, the Goa government stated that the devolution on the criteria of “income distance” should be reduced from 45 percent by the 15th Finance Commission to 30 percent during the current commission. He said that the criteria of income distance are meant to promote equity, as the poorer the state, the larger the devolution.
Panagariya said that, on the fiscal efforts criteria, Goa has suggested it should be increased from 2.5 percent to 5 percent.
“What Goa is suggesting is that we reduce income distance devolution by 15 percent, of which 12.5 percent should be allocated to SDG and another 2.5 percent to fiscal efforts,” he added.
Panagariya said that, according to the calculations provided by the Goa government, this will raise Goa’s share from 0.386 percent of the overall divisible pool under the 15th Commission to 1.76 percent under the 16th Commission. “That is practically a four-fold share increase for the Government of Goa,” he said.
When asked about states utilizing funds allocated for infrastructure to distribute freebies, the chairman said that if the money is given for projects, then it must be used for the projects, it cannot be used for freebies.
“Freebies come from the general budget, for which the funds come from the state’s own tax revenues, but they can also come from the devolution allocated by the Finance Commission,” he said.
He added, “In the end, in a democratic society, the elected government makes those decisions.”
“The decisions are not made by the Finance Commission. The Finance Commission can raise that issue in the overall interest of macroeconomic stability. The commission can say something at the general level, but it cannot control how the state government chooses to spend the amount,” he said.
The Chairman commented, “We as citizens have to take that particular stand when you vote for the government.”
“It is citizens who vote for the government based on freebies, then they are asking for freebies. That is what citizens want. Ultimately, the citizens should decide whether they want better amenities, better roads, better sewage, better water, or these freebies transferred to their bank accounts,” he added.
