Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati has demanded from the 13th Finance Commission, which was on a tour of the state, that the Centre must increase Uttar Pradesh’s share of divisible pool of Central taxes to 50% from the present 30.5% and the 2001 population be taken as a parameter for devolution instead of the 1971 Census figures.
During a meeting with the Commission members, Mayawati said while allocating financial resources to the states, certain points like economic backwardness and actual requirement of a state should be taken into consideration. Claiming that implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations had resulted in undue pressure on the state’s finances, the chief minister requested that the Centre share at least 50% of this burden.
She also reiterated her demand for a special package of Rs 80,000 crore for development of Bundelkhand, Poorvanchal and other backward regions of the state.
Stating that the Centre had denied debt-waiver relief to the state for not achieving a target of 3.5% fiscal deficit as per provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM), Mayawati said the Centre should take into account the fact that the state had to bear an additional annual expenditure of Rs 6,000 crore and additional one-time liability of Rs 13,000 crore on account of the 6th pay panel. She urged the Commission to defer targets of the FRBM Act for at least two years.
She also demanded support for proposals in the power sector, besides the tourism sector. Mayawati also demanded special grants of Rs 3,810 crore and Rs 3,750 crore for education and health sectors, respectively, besides financial assistance of Rs 706.03 crore for construction of the high court building in Lucknow.