Finance Commission should leverage Indian economy: Telangana CM

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has said the Finance Commission should think of leveraging the Indian economy and its role needs to be totally changed. He also said that the functioning of the Finance Commission should not be a routine affair.

Chief Minister Rao on Saturday held a review meeting with finance and senior officers in view of the possible visit of 15th Finance Commission to the state in near future. Referring to the Finance Commission and its role, Rao said: “The Finance Commission visits States with pre-occupied notions and ideas. It is better if the Finance Commission becomes a policy formulating body. Devolution is the right of the States. Lot of diversity is there with reference to the States’ requirements.”

The Chief Minister said that though there have been different governments at the national and state level since independence with different political parties coming to power from time to time, there has not been a qualitative change and hence it is the time to introspect on this front.

He expressed unhappiness as to why the people are disappointed with the policies of the governments and are in an agitating mood. In this context, he mentioned that the two political systems have miserably failed the nation.

“The broad fiscal policy lies with the Government of India. Whatever they are supposed to devolve, they have instead centralised. I told NITI Aayog in one of the meetings that the Centre should not come in the way of States’ growth. The growth of the State should be considered as the growth of the country,” he said.

“Do not disincentivise the growing States. Even for meagre funds lots of conditions are imposed by the Centre. The relation that should exist between the Union Government and the State Government is absent,” said Chief Minister Rao.

[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]