Finance Commission tells states their needs will be vetted

The Finance Commission on Thursday assured the state governments that fiscal needs of each will be individually assessed keeping in view their special needs.

Commission Chairman N K Singh said states which have contributed to the country's progress would get “careful consideration”.

Singh said this after meeting a delegation led by Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu O Panneerselvam. The delegation submitted a memorandum and also put forth their viewpoint on the terms of reference (TOR) of the Commission.

His assurance also comes in the wake of Southern states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh alleging that the Commission's award based on Census 2011 would amount to penalising them for faring well on social indicators and rewarding the BIMARU (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh), who have done little to control population.

Urge balance

The over 40-member AIADMK delegation, including M Thambidurai, Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, met the Commission members and urged them to balance the need for fiscal transfers to less developed states, while simultaneously meeting the growing aspirations of people from better performing states.

As part of its visit to states to assess their needs, the 15th Finance Commission will visit Tamil Nadu at the end of September.