Bhopal, March 4 The 16th Finance Commission led by its chairman Arvind Panagariya arrived in Madhya Pradesh to assess the state's financial needs and tax devolution on Tuesday.
Besides holding meetings in Bhopal, the commission would visit other parts of the state and hold discussions with public representatives, senior officials between March 5 and March 8, according to official information.
The delegation will hold a discussion on the state's financial need during a meeting at the Kushabhau Thakare convention center in Bhopal on March 6, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said on Tuesday.
Additionally, the Commission members will meet representatives from corporations, district panchayats, and political parties, he added.
On March 7, the Commission members will be visiting the state financial city Indore. They will visit the biogas plant of Indore Municipal Corporation and the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Pithampur.
Later, after Indore and Pithampur (Dhar), the eight-member Commission would leave for Omkareshwar. The commission, which determines states' share in central taxes and recommends grants for specific sectors, will also review the utilisation of central funds by the state government.
Another key point of the commission's MP visit is that it would meet the CAG in Bhopal. Officials said the commission and CAG meet could take place anywhere in the country, but this time it is taking place in MP.
Notably, Madhya Pradesh currently receives 7.85 per cent share in the central taxes but is seeking an increase to nearly 9 per cent. The state receives the third-highest devolution in the country and has deployed a dedicated team of senior finance department officials to make a strong case for a larger share.
Officials said MP gets around Rs. 1,000 cr yearly grant for the health sector. Now, the state would demand grants from the finance commission for local bodies and disaster management.
Madhya Pradesh got over Rs 1.11 lakh crore as devolution (the state's share in the central taxes) in the union budget for 2025-2026 presented on February 1.
In the previous budget, the devolution for MP was Rs. 97,000 crore. The total debt of the MP government was over Rs 3.75 lakh crore on Mar 31.
After the loans taken by the government this financial year in regular intervals, the loan of the state has touched Rs 4.10 lakh crore. It would further go up once the fresh loan is taken.
--IANS
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