Government also urges Centre to release funds for CSS as per commitment
Bhubaneswar: State government Thursday demanded the Centre to change the sharing pattern of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) between Centre and state to 90:10 from 75:25.
The demand was made by state Finance Minister Sashibhusan Behera at the pre-budget consultation meeting held under the chairmanship of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi.
“As per recommendations of 14th Finance Commission the sharing pattern of SDRF should be changed from 75:25 to 90:10 once GST is in place. As the GST has been implemented from July 1 last year, the sharing pattern may be changed to 90:10 between Centre and State and Government of India should release the Central share accordingly,” Behera said.
Behera urged the Centre for advance indication on central assistance for Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) and release of funds as per commitment.
According to official sources, the Centre is not releasing the funds as per commitment and neither on time, as a result, the state is facing difficulty in execution of the CSS.
The release of funds must also match the allocation as inadequate flow of funds for the schemes such as National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), scholarship for SC & ST students, Integrated Child Development Programme (ICDS), Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) etc. have affected implementation of the same, he said.
He also suggested for review of the decisions of Centre on release of monthly tax devolution to states. Government of India has recently changed the monthly release date of tax devolution to states to 15th of every month instead of the 1st working day of the month. This decision will adversely affect the finances of the states as a major proportion of expenditure on account of salary and pension is incurred in the first week of the month, he pointed out.
Stating that the royalty on coal was not revised after April 2012, Behera demanded immediate revision of the royalty rate as well. As per norms, the rate should be revised every three years.
Behera also demanded Credit Guarantee Trust Fund for the purpose of providing guarantees in respect of borrowers in the farm sector. The state government further demanded exemption from income tax on the interest income of District Mineral Foundations (DMF) from bank deposits.
Behera also highlighted the state’s difficulties in going for total financial inclusion in the state due to lack of brick and mortar bank branches and lack of connectivity.
PNN