Rs 13,280.86 cr Eleventh Finance Commission Award for Assam

NEW DELHI, February 22: An estimated Rs 13,280.86 crore would be transferred to Assam by the Central Government according to the recommendations of the Eleventh Finance Commission, the Minister of State for Finance, Bala Saheb Vikhe Patil disclosed here today. But the Minister, replying to a question tabled by Angou Singh of Manipur (Rajya Sabha), declined to comment whether financial position of the Northeastern States in the aftermath of implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendation, were taken in account by the Eleventh Finance Commission. The Eleventh Finance Commission has made their recommendation on devolution of State after a holistic assessment of the needs and resources of the Centre and each State for its award period. The additional liabilities arising out of the revision of emoluments and terminal benefits to the State Government employees, as a result of the implementation of the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission would have been captured by the Finance Commission within its terms of reference, the Minister argued. Assam's share in taxes and duties is estimated at Rs 12,362.05 crore, while a meagre amount of Rs 110 crore has been allocated for non-Plan revenue deficit. For relief expenditure, Assam would be transferred Rs 420.60 crore and Rs 132.54 crore for upgradation and special problems. The other States in the region would be transferred as follows: Arunachal Pradesh (Rs. 2315.18 crore), Manipur (Rs. 3215.91 crore), Meghalaya (Rs. 2961.41 crore), Mizoram (Rs. 2535.27 crore), Nagaland (Rs. 4449.76 crore) and Tripura (Rs. 4361.04 crore).