Himachal seeks Rs 2,500 Cr special financial package

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HimVani

Shimla (Jan 19): Himachal pradesh government today requested the Centre to sanction special financial package of Rs 2,500 crore to the state.

The demand was made by state Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal while
speaking in a pre-budget meeting of finance ministers of the states in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi today. Dhumal told the meeting that Centre has recognized the adverse impact of 13th Finance Commission on special category states and has constituted a group under the advisor, Planning Commission, to explore reasonable ways to handle plan financing problems by estimating the resources of special category states and non-plan gap between the non-plan revnue receipts and expenditures for the period 2010-15.

He told that the group was to submit its report by 31st December, 2010 and its recommendations could have been suitably considered by the Union government and appropritate provisions made in the Union budget 2011-12 but its term has been extended to 31st March, 2011. He requested the Union government to immediately intervene in this matter and sanction a special financial package to the state.
The Chief Minister requested the Centre to sanction an untied special plan assistance of Rs 1,500 crore to fund state annual plan 2011-12 by making provision in proposed budgetary support in the next finance budget.

He requested the Union govt to reconsider the acceptance of recommendations of Finance Vommission on linking of state specific grants to fiscal deficit targets and said that recommendations are not practical considering the borrowing needs of these states to finance their developmental projects.

He asked the Union government to adopt the old practice under which such releases have always been made without linking them to fiscal deficit targets. Dhumal requested the government to grant sanction to levy generation tax of 10 paise per unit on hydro electric projects, keeping in view recommedations of C Rangarajan Committee and told that additional annual revnue of 250 crore would be generated
through generation tax in the state.

He demanded extension of industrial incentive package up to March 2013 in its original form and added that clarification issued by Central Board of Excise and Customs regarding availability of excise duty benifits on industry expansion has not addressed the issues raised by the state government.

He demanded uniform pattern for funding central sponsered schemes for all special category states. He told that as per the figures for 2009-10, if the government of India were to provide funding on 90:10 pattern to the state, the additional impact for year would have been only 159.85 crores, which is less than 14% of total provision by the central government to these schemes during the year.

Chief Minister Professor Prem Kumar Dhumal requested the Union government to provide budgetary support for 63 kms long Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri railway line as its cost at present has esclated to Rs 2,964 crore from original estimate of 1,046 crore due to delay in executions for want of adequate resources.

He asked the Union govt to develop railway link to Leh Via Manali and declare it as project of national importance on strategic considerations for ensuring reliable timely supplies to armed forces.

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