Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 8 Apr: The Arunachal Pradesh government has urged the 16th Finance Commission to restore the special category state status for Arunachal in its fund allocation pattern. This was informed by 16th Finance Commission member Annie George Mathew here on Tuesday afternoon.
Accompanied by her colleagues Dr Manoj Panda and Dr Soumya Kanti Ghosh, the senior member of 16th Finance Commission was addressing mediapersons on the sidelines of their meeting with Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and the chief secretary.
Mathew informed that, apart from the restoration of special category state status, the Arunachal government has asked for 100 percent funding pattern for all the centrally-sponsored schemes.
“Earlier the criteria were forest and ecology. Arunachal Pradesh has brought in forest cover and carbon sink aspects. Arunachal Pradesh requested for some changes, from 10% to 12.5%, as Arunachal’s contribution in carbon sink and preserving biodiversity and climate combat,” she said.
The Arunachal government requested that ‘forest cover and carbon sink potential’ should be a weighted parameter in the horizontal devolution formula for incentivising and compensating states like Arunachal for the economic sacrifices made to preserve biodiver-sity and combat climate change, “as a reward to the contribution made in carbon sink potential, so that other states may follow the suit and place the nation as the top performer among all the nations of the world.”
Mathew further said that in the demographic performance aspect, Arunachal sought 12.5 percentage from the existing 10% in horizontal devolution, arguing that the tribal people, culture and heritage should be preserved from extinction. Earlier, the commission used the 2011 data while making the recommendation.
“This demographic performance is used to reward efforts the state controlling the population. Arunachal talks about preservation of tribal people, culture and heritage from extinction. This is a very new concept they raised. They have talked about 26 major tribes and over 100 sub-tribes, each with unique traditions and languages,” she added.
The state government in its presentation argued that the homogenisation of culture due to modernisation and globalisation is also contributing to the erosion of cultural diversity and the loss of unique cultural practices and threatens indigenous cultural identities, necessitating higher investment in tribal welfare, language preservation, and cultural documentation.
She further informed that in the vertical devolution, the Arunachal government has asked for increase of 47% from the earlier 41% recommended by the 15th Finance Commission. “They have sought getting fairer and more balanced allocations for all the states,” informed Mathew.
She further said that Arunachal has been consistently getting an increasing horizontal devolution rate. From the 11th Finance Commission, when it was 0.244 percentage, till the 15th Finance Commission made it 1.757, it has seen a steadily increase.
“They (Arunachal) have asked from the Finance Commission a total package of Rs 6.89 lakh crore to compensate for its exclusion from externally aided projects supported by international agencies. In financing disaster management Rs 5,000 crore; grants to local bodies Rs 36,976 crore; augmentation of state resources and forest issues and sustainable development Rs 10, 227crore; special problem and specific needs of the state Rs 55,558 crore; special packages under state-specific grants Rs 5,81,000 lakh crore,” Mathew disclosed.
She further said that the Arunachal government has also sought fund for development of hydropower and funding gap amount of around Rs 44,974 crore from the Finance Commission.
The 15th Finance Commission has given criteria of horizontal devolution of 45% income distance, 15% population, 12.5 demographic performance, 10% forest and ecology, and 2.5 taxes and fiscal efforts.
