SHILLONG: Chairman of Forum of Councils under Sixth Schedule (FOCUSS), PN Syiem said the different district councils in North East faced financial constraints.
Addressing reporters after the third general council meeting on Friday, he said the GST shares collected by the state and central government were not shared with the Councils.
“We need to at least strengthen the financial position of the Council. We are at the mercy of the state government. The state government enjoys maximum revenue from Power Sector but we enjoy no benefit out of it. On GST, we have to write to the central government to look into the GST rule to ensure we enjoy the GST share also,” he said.
However, he expressed delight that the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) will get funding under Article 280 and informed that they would send proposal to the government for amendment of Article 275 so that there should be a provision that certain amount should go to the district councils.
Recalling that when the Fourteenth Finance Commission was in place, the FOCUSS delegation had approached late Arun Jaitley who was the former Finance Minister and following which the special central assistance was granted to the District Councils.
“As of now, we have to go for temporary budget every financial year,” Syiem said adding that the Articles in the Indian Constitution should have space for District Councils to be strong in financial positions.
Looking back to the year 2015-16 where the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs), received Rs 1000 crores as funds sanctioned under special assistance grant, he said that as per budget provision Rs 1000 crore should have been earmarked for the District Councils and Territorial Councils in 2016-17.
He slammed the state government for delay in submitting the Utilization Certificate (UC), for which the District Councils lost Rs 1000 crore.
“For the 2016-17, Rs 1000 crore should have been earmarked but we missed it because we were late in submitting in the UC. We face the problem because our UC is mixed with the UC from the state government. Even if we submit it at the earliest, we are blamed for not submitting it. We should submit the UCs separately so that the central government can provide funds for us,” he said.
Replying to queries, Syiem further said that the District Councils and Territorial Councils should be strengthened and also be strengthened financially.
He added that the Councils have to promote their culture and tradition for which funds is needed. On a parting note he said, “Sixth Schedule should continue and provision of the Sixth Schedule should be strengthened.”