<p>At a time when special category status for Bihar has become an election issue, the message of the Modi government was loud and clear – the demand cannot be fulfilled.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“Two states – Bihar and Odisha – have demanded special category status. We cannot give special category status,” Union Minister for Planning Rao Inderjit Singh told the Lok Sabha.<br /><br />However, he said a proposal for special central assistance for Bihar was under consideration of the Centre.<br /><br />Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been demanding special category status for his state for the past three years. In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, the demand had reached a fever pitch and even Narendra Modi had said he would grant special status to the state.<br /><br />With the Bihar Assembly elections round the corner, the demand for special status has once again gained momentum. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a rally in Patna last week, said the Centre was mulling a financial package in the excess of Rs 50,000 crore for Bihar, but it would be announced at the “right time”.<br /><br />Replying to another question, Rao Inderjit Singh said if the Rajasthan government sent a proposal to provide special package, the central government may consider it.<br /><br />Special category states have to contribute just 10 per cent of the expenditure on a particular Centrally Sponsored Scheme, as against 25 per cent of other states.<br /><br />The National Development Council first accorded special category status to Jammu <br />and Kashmir, Assam and Nagaland in 1969. Over the years, eight more states were added to the list – Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand.<br /><br />With the Centre accepting the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, the states have started getting 42 per cent share of taxes from the central divisible pool – 10 per cent excess than what they received during the Planning Commission days.<br /></p>
<p>At a time when special category status for Bihar has become an election issue, the message of the Modi government was loud and clear – the demand cannot be fulfilled.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“Two states – Bihar and Odisha – have demanded special category status. We cannot give special category status,” Union Minister for Planning Rao Inderjit Singh told the Lok Sabha.<br /><br />However, he said a proposal for special central assistance for Bihar was under consideration of the Centre.<br /><br />Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been demanding special category status for his state for the past three years. In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, the demand had reached a fever pitch and even Narendra Modi had said he would grant special status to the state.<br /><br />With the Bihar Assembly elections round the corner, the demand for special status has once again gained momentum. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a rally in Patna last week, said the Centre was mulling a financial package in the excess of Rs 50,000 crore for Bihar, but it would be announced at the “right time”.<br /><br />Replying to another question, Rao Inderjit Singh said if the Rajasthan government sent a proposal to provide special package, the central government may consider it.<br /><br />Special category states have to contribute just 10 per cent of the expenditure on a particular Centrally Sponsored Scheme, as against 25 per cent of other states.<br /><br />The National Development Council first accorded special category status to Jammu <br />and Kashmir, Assam and Nagaland in 1969. Over the years, eight more states were added to the list – Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand.<br /><br />With the Centre accepting the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, the states have started getting 42 per cent share of taxes from the central divisible pool – 10 per cent excess than what they received during the Planning Commission days.<br /></p>
