Punjab News- 14th Finance Commission visits state

Chandigarh, September 6, 2013: The much awaited panel of 14th Finance Commission today arrived at Chandigarh under the Chairmanship of Dr. Y.V. Reddy. The other members of the Finance Commission were Professor Abhijit Sen, Sushma Nath, Dr. M. Govinda Rao and Dr. Sudipto Mundle.
They were accompanied by Ajay Narayan Jha, Secretary to the Commission and other officers of the Commission. Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Finance Minister, Punjab extended warm welcome to the Finance Commission on their arrival at Chandigarh.
Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the Finance Department of Punjab Government said that the team of Finance Commission had series of discussions with the representatives of Urban and Rural Local Bodies and representatives of Trade and Industry.
The first meeting was held with the representatives of Local Bodies of the State, in which various core issues concerning the state like the problem of solid waste management, setting up and maintenance of state of the art water supply and sewerage system, construction and maintenance of urban and rural link roads, installation of LED street lights were highlighted by the representatives of local bodies. It was requested that the state has not been getting regular and adequate supply of funds from the union government for all these basic amenities.
The State Government requested the 14th finance Commission that grants for Local Bodies for the period 2015-16 to 2019-20 should be doubled from existing 1.5% of divisible pool of taxes to 3% of divisible pool of taxes. The State Government also requested the Commission to recommend State Specific Grants of Rs.1550 crore for Rural and Urban Local Bodies of the State for the period 2015-16 to 2019-20.
The representatives requested for suitable civic infrastructure to meet the demands of water supply (only 80% population is covered up till now in Punjab) for which Rs. 400 crore required.  For sewerage system State requires Rs. 1400 crore and for sewerage treatment plant it requires Rs. 500 crore.  They have also requested that for all the basic amenities in the urban areas at least Rs. 10,000 crore is required to allocate.  Moreover, they demanded a special package for maintenance of the present structure. They also requested the Commission to recommend grant of Rs. 400 crore for Fire Brigade system as there is very poor infrastructure available at the moment.
They pointed out that there is a need of sewerage system in the urban areas for which a grant of Rs. 100 crore required and for STP system Rs. 1500 crore is required.  The treated water would be used in the fields. They stressed the need for management of plastic waste in the cities through IT system/Cameras for which State needs Rs. 500 crore. They requested that if a grant of Rs. 2000 crore be given to Punjab the 80% of the water will be used in the State.  They pointed out that there is a need for a scheme to stop pollution by plastic bags and, further, installation of biogas plants at different places for which a grant of Rs. 1500 crore for all MCs be given.
The second round of deliberations was held with the representatives of Rural Local Bodies. In this one-two-one meeting the representatives raised the issues concerning the overall development of the villages, special mentions were made to the issues of up keep of village ponds, construction of Panchayat Ghars having proper furniture and other communication gadgets, construction of GAU-shallas to check the menace of stray cattle, construction of at least one community centre for the cluster of five-six villages.  
The last meeting of the day was with the representatives of Trade and Industry sector. The State Government drew the attention of Commission to flight of Industry and capital from the State due to Government of India policy of giving tax concessions to the industry of the neighboring States of Punjab. The representatives of Trade and Industry urged the Commission to provide fiscal incentives on the lines of hilly areas for the development of Industry in the State. The Industry also urged the Commission to ensure faster implementation of GST in the Country.
Officers of the Punjab Govt. including Mr. D.P. Reddy Principal Secretary Finance, Mandeep Singh Sandhu Principal Secretary Rural Development and Panchayat, Karan Avtar Singh Principal Secretary Trade and Industry, Ashok Kumar Gupta Secretary local bodies, Jaspal Singh Secretary Expenditure were also present.
The Urban Local Bodies were represented by Sunil Jyoti, Mayor Municipal Corporation Jalandhar, Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria, Mayor Municipal Corporation Ludhiana, Rajesh Honey, Councillor Municipal Corporation Amritsar, Gurmeet Kaur Brar, Councillor Municipal Corporation Patiala, Rajesh Chaudhary, President Municipal Council Nangal, Dharampal Rao, Councillor Municipal Council Gobindgarh, Joginder Pal Marwaha, President Nagar Panchayat Bhulath, Gurprem Singh Romana, President Municipal Council Kharar, Roshan Lal, Councillor Municipal Council Kharar.
The Panchayti Raj Institutions were represented by Jaspal Singh, Chairman Zila Parishad Patiala, Pritpal Singh, Member Zila Parishads Sangrur, Jagroop Singh Member Panchayt Samiti Patiala, Narinder Singh Sarpanch village Kheri Maniyan, Harjinder Singh Sarpanch village Mundo Sangtiyan, Bhupinder Kaur Sarpanch village Harnampur, Manjit Singh Member Block Samiti Majri, Sukhveer Kaur Sarpanch Village Nanowal.
The Trade and Industry were represented by D.L.Sharma, Chairman CII Punjab State Council & Director Vardhman Textile Ltd. Ludhiana, Sanjeev Nagpal, Convener Agriculture & Water Panel CII Punjab State Council & Managing Director Nasa Agro Industries Ltd Fazilka, J.B.S.Sangha, Vice Chairman CII Jalandhar Zonal Council & Proprietor Beas Cold Storage, Bhavdeep Sardana, Sr. VP & CEO The Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals Limited Phagwara, R.C. Rallhan, Chairman Sri Tools Industries Focal Point Ludhiana, Dinesh Lakra, Punjab  Apparel & Textile Park Focal Point Ludhiana, Kamal Dalmia,  Natraj Wooltex Limited  Amritsar, R.S.Sachdeva Co-Chairman PHDCCI Chandigarh, S.N.Garg President, Bathinda Rice Millers Association Bathinda, Sandeep Khosla, M/s Khosla Rubbers Pvt. Ltd. Focal Point, Amritsar, Dinesh Gupta, Convener CII Mandi Gobindgarh Core Group & Managing Director, Parbhat Heavy Forge Pvt. Ltd.