Puducherry Chief Minister writes to Prime Minister, reiterates demand to be included in Finance Commission

Puducherry. Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy on Friday urged the central government to include the union territory in the Terms and Conditions (ToR) of the 16th Finance Commission. The Finance Commission is to be constituted this year. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rangasamy has sought inclusion of Puducherry in the ‘Financial Assistance to States for Capital Investment’ scheme or a special grant package for building capital infrastructure. For this, an amount of Rs 2,328 crore has been sought from the Centre.

A copy of the letter was made public on Friday. The special package includes expansion of the airport (Rs 425 crore), construction of an integrated assembly complex (Rs 420 crore), improvement of infrastructure in the health sector (Rs 500 crore), establishment of a state medical university (Rs 500 crore) and a national law relates to setting up of the University (Rs. 483 crore). The Chief Minister pointed out that Puducherry has not found a place in the terms and conditions of the Finance Commission and therefore has not received its share of central taxes based on the recommendation of the Finance Commission in the past.

He said, “The Puducherry administration has always been requesting the Government of India to include Puducherry in the TOR of the Central Finance Commission or make a special reference to it by suitably amending Article 280(3) of the Constitution with respect to the word ‘State’ Go….” The Chief Minister said that the Central Government has proposed to constitute the 16th Finance Commission soon. Therefore, it is high time to make a fresh request for the inclusion of Puducherry in the proposed Finance Commission.

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