Finance Commission meet Rajasthan CM presses for additional allocation to state

    Jaipur, Aug 1 (PTI) Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Thursday requested the Finance Commission to recommend additional financial assistance to the state because of difficult geographical conditions and a severe water crisis in Rajasthan.
    The chief minister chaired a meeting with the delegation of 16th Finance Commission at the Secretariat on Thursday.
    He said that Rajasthan has a vast land area and scattered population, due to which it costs more to provide basic facilities like education, medical and health, drinking water, electricity, communication facilities etc. to the common people compared to other states.
     He said that keeping in mind this additional cost and the geographical situation of the state, financial resources should be provided to the state.
     Sharma said that the state has to face heat waves almost every year, which affect the livelihood of the residents of both rural and urban areas.
    Also, crops are damaged due to desert locusts. Keeping this in mind, the threat of heat waves and desert locusts should be considered a natural disaster and they should be included in the definition of natural disaster in the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).
     The Chief Minister requested the Finance Commission (FC) to develop a formula for the distribution of central taxes, which would become a means of removing regional disparities and help allocate more resources to provide important minimum infrastructure for all areas and sections of society.
     He also urged the FC to give special importance to the area of the state while finalizing the share of the states in the central tax income. He also requested the Finance Commission to restart the maintenance grants for roads and bridges, irrigation assets and forests.
     Sharma said that irregular and uncertain monsoon is a big challenge for the agriculture-based economy of the state. The state is facing extreme difficulties due to limited and continuously decreasing water resources. The Finance Commission should also consider giving grants for water deficit, he said.
    The Chief Minister requested the Finance Commission to recommend an increase in the grants for the local bodies of Rajasthan.
     Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Diya Kumari urged the Commission to adopt a standard approach in view of the difficult geographical conditions of the state and in accordance with the aspirations of 8 crore people of the state.
     Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya said that the Commission is visiting the states and getting suggestions from them. After Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjab, this is the fourth visit of the Commission to Rajasthan. The suggestions received from the states are being heard seriously.
     Chief Secretary Sudhansh Pant said that Rajasthan is the largest state in the country. Mainly the districts of the western region face challenges in achieving the goal of service delivery. Due to limited resources, the state is dependent on central funds.
     Additional Chief Secretary Finance Akhil Arora presented the social and economic condition of Rajasthan before the Commission through a presentation.
     He urged the commission to provide financial assistance to the state based on the ranking of Sustainable Development Goals.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)