Correspondent
KOHIMA, OCTOBER 6
CHAIRMAN of Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC), Dr Yaga Venugopal Reddy today said that the efforts of the Commission would be to arrive at a good balance between change and continuity to get the optimum benefits.
The FFC Chairman said this after having series of meetings with Nagaland Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues, Bureaucrats, representatives of tribal bodies, and industries and commerce for the last two days in Kohima.The Finance Commission while appreciating the significant issues raised by the state government, mentioned that the Commission has the responsibility to handle twin balances of vertical and horizontal devolutions on the one hand and the balance between the General and the Special category States on the other.
They also appreciated the unique and special socio-economic position of Nagaland, and sought certain further clarifications information to make an informed decision while making its recommendations, stated a press release issued by the Commission Secretary A N Jha here this afternoon.
The Commission maintained that during the two meeting of the Commission officials with various stakeholders of the state, they were enlightened about the steady deterioration of the financial position of the State over the past few years.
The challenges faced by the State government primarily due to lack of connectivity and infrastructure it was mentioned, have caused difficulties in delivering good governance at the grass root level, Jha said.
“While requesting to look into the special position and needs of the Nagaland, it was mentioned that the intention of the state was not to remain perpetually frozen in the Special category bracket,” he said.
The Commission was informed that the efforts are being initiated in the form of State Special Development Zones to be further connected by new Railways and super highways to promote the process of urbanization and industrialization.
The Commission also maintained that the state government has submitted their memorandum and made a detailed presentation on the finances of the state government, its projection for the award period and gave their views on some of the terms of reference of the Commission.
Meanwhile, the Commission while appreciating the Chief Minister and state government for the cooperation and support extended to the Commission also assured that the issues raised will receive due attention in the deliberation of the Commission.
The Commission will finalize its recommendations by October 2014 after completing its discussions with all the State Governments, the Government of India and relevant stake holders, Jha added.
The 16-member delegation of the FFC led by Chairman Dr Reddy including members Prof Abhijit Sen, Sushama Nath, Dr M Govinda Rao and Dr Sudipto Mundle, Secretary A N Jha and other officials were in Nagaland to hold consultations with the State Government and key stakeholders.
The delegation left for Imphal, Manipur by road this afternoon.
