Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission vice-chairperson J. Jeyaranjan has come down heavily on the alleged concentration of powers and systematic destruction of Constitutional institutions in the country by the Union government.
He was speaking while inaugurating the tenth annual conference of Kerala Economic Association (KEA) and a national seminar on ‘Cooperative federalism: Challenges ahead’ organised in association with Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation (GIFT), and Inter University Centre for Alternative Economics, Kerala University, on ‘Cooperative federalism: Challenges ahead’ here on Saturday.
Stressing the urgency for a fundamental restructuring of Centre-State federal relations, Dr. Jeyarenjan said the increasing burden of expenditure on the States, especially the southern States, posed a serious threat to their economic survival.
He also lamented the absence of a common platform like the Planning Commission or the Inter-State Council to discuss issues concerning States. Such mechanisms enabled a direct interaction between the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers on economic issues. He objected to claims that the GST Council served a similar purpose.
The economist also emphasised the need for a regulatory system to oversee resource management by the Centre.
Vinod Vyasalu, founder, Centre for Budget and Policy Studies, Bengaluru, flagged the criteria fixed by the Finance Commission that has been worsening the imbalance in resource allocation instead of bridging such gaps
He added that the devolution of resources to the States through Finance Commissions violates the concept of equity as it results in lopsided sharing of resources among States, especially between southern States and others.
Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission member R. Srinivasan demanded an additional devolution of 8-12% of central tax revenue to the States. Besides, the proportion earmarked for vertical devolution of resources should be increased from the current 41% to 49-53%. His colleague M. Vijayabhaskar was critical of the arbitrary framing of rules and regulations for central schemes which several States have been finding it onerous to implement.
Economist D. Narasimha Reddy, GIFT director K.J. Joseph, KEA president K.N. Harilal and Prof. Lekha S. Chakraborty of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy also spoke at the seminar.
