Tripura seeks Rs 67,104.82 cr from Finance Commission

Agartala: Tripura has sought Rs 67,104.82 crore as Special Grant from the 14th Finance Commission for all-round development of the state, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said today.

"We demanded Rs 67,104.82 crore for all-round development of the state. The expenditures include Rs 48,291 crore as non plan grant, Rs 15,923 crore for local bodies and Rs 2,890.82 crore for infrastructure developments," he told reporters.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar. Image courtesy PIB

Sarkar said the Finance Commission "appreciated our government for fiscal discipline, good governance and efficient implementation of the Central schemes, so we requested them to consider our demands with utmost care so that the flow of development continues".

He said, the state government also demanded that the year 2014-15 should be taken as the base year while considering the grants.

The chief minister said the state government could not introduce a pay structure for its government employees and pensioners at par with the Sixth Pay Commission of the Central government due to deprivation by 13th Finance Commission.

He said the state also demanded 'Green Bonus' on the plea that the state has 73 percent forest cover and was releasing huge quantum of oxygen in the environment.

Tripura also requested for waiver of Rs 383 crore of Central loans.

The 14th Finance Commission led by chairman YV Reddy arrived in Agartala om Tuesday on a three-day visit.

During its stay, the commission members also met officials, leaders of various political parties and elected representatives of local government bodies.

The Finance Commission was constituted in January and is expected make recommendations to the Centre by October 2014 regarding the sharing of union taxes, principles governing grants-in-aid to states and transfer of resources to local bodies.

PTI