Finance Commission visits Uttarakhand, developmental issues discussed

Dehradun, May 18 (IANS) The delegation of the 16th Finance Commission on Sunday visited Uttarakhand and discussed various developmental issues with the Chief Minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami.

“The delegation of the 16th Finance Commission, led by its Chairman, Arvind Panagariya, was welcomed at the Government House,” Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami wrote on X.

The Chief Minister further informed that various points related to the development of the state were discussed with the delegation.

The financial team comprised Annie George Mathew, Manoj Panda, Soumya Kantighosh, Commission Secretary Ritwik Pandey, Joint Secretary K.K. Mishra, and Joint Director P. Amruthavarshini.

An official said that the state government will present its proposals before the Finance Commission in a meeting to be held at the Secretariat on Monday under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, Pushkar Dhami.

The Finance Commission will also hold a meeting with the representatives of the municipal bodies, panchayat representatives and political parties.

Cabinet Minister Subodh Uniyal, Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan, Principal Secretary R.K. Sudhanshu, Finance Secretary Dilip Jawalkar and officials of the Finance Department were present on the occasion.

On May 8, the Maharashtra government also held a meeting with the 16th Finance Commission and raised alarm over a reduction in the proportion of grants from the Centre to the states. The grants in aid from the Central government in 2022-23 were Rs 51,414 crore, which fell to Rs 36,045 crore in 2023-24 and further reduced to Rs 31,830 crore in 2024-25.

--IANS

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