M A I N   N E W S

Another finance panel for Punjab
By P.P.S. Gill
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 18 — Punjab has set up the Second Finance Commission. It has fulfilled a constitutional obligation.

This commission should have been set up in 1999. But despite reminders by the minister concerned, Mr Balramji Das Tandon, the government dithered and delayed transgressing the period by one year.

The new commission will have a retired IAS officer, Mr B.B. Mahajan, as chairman. The Principal Secretary (Local Government), Mr N.K. Arora, and the Principal Secretary (Rural Development and Panchayats), Mr J.S. Kesar, will be its members and Mr S.P. Karkara, Member-Secretary. Incidentally, Mr Arora was on the First Commission as well.

The commission is expected to submit its interim report by January 31 and the final by July 31, 2001.

The First Commission was constituted in 1994. It submitted its report in December 1995. Its recommendations were to be implemented from January, 1997. Its term expires in 2001-02.

Despite the available legal framework, the recommendations of the First Commission, approved by the Council of Ministers and the Legislature, have not been implemented in letter and spirit. Neither the panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) nor the municipalities have benefited from the commission’s report.

Informed sources say despite a provision and allocation of funds in the state’s budget money was never released. If it was, it was peanuts.

Against a total allocation of nearly Rs 292 crore, which should have gone to the municipalities in the first three years, the actual accruals were just about one-third.

The PRIs (panchayats, panchayat samitis and zila parishads) virtually got nothing. No money was released to these bodies despite an allocation of Rs 45 crore in 1999-2000. Even for the current financial year no money has been released to either PRIs or municipalities. The current year’s budget provision for the former is Rs 54 crore and for the latter Rs 32.22 crore. This speaks volumes about the state’s own financial position in the past three years.

It is estimated even by reasonable minimum standards, basic civic amenities like drinking water and sewerage alone would require Rs 4,500 crore in the next five years. Irrespective of the commissions, where is the money to come from as problems stockpile in the urban centres and rural areas get neglected?

The finance commissions were set up under the Punjab Finance Commission for Panchayats and Municipalities Act, 1994, to give effect to 73rd and 74th Constitution amendments. The idea being to evolve a system for devolution of administrative and financial powers and a share in taxes to the grassroots democratic institutions and give practical shape to the amendments. This has not happened.

As many as 29 items under the state administrative control were to pass on to PRIs and 18 to municipalities. The former got nil, the latter secured 14. A lot more requires to be done.

Punjab has not parted with any money (or administrative control) in respect of PRIs and municipalities. Yet it is keen that the Centre must give it more money and expeditiously.

The “dissatisfied” states must also be aware of the caveat in the recommendations of the Eleventh Finance Commission on devolution of money to the PRIs and municipalities.

It says that money will be given to only elected bodies. If there are no elected grassroots institutions, the Central Government will withhold the grant. The grant would also be withheld if the administrative and financial functioning envisaged by the constitutional amendments is improper.

This is a typical case when the Punjab Government is not fulfilling its constitutional obligation. It drags its feet compelled by its own financial difficulties. An endeavour, however, is being made now to pass on the share due to PRIs and municipalities to liquidate their backlog. This is, a feeble move. There is, however, a forlorn hope of some money being released as per the current year’s budget provision, even it is in driblet.

Therefore even as Mr Mahajan settles down to start work involving over 12,000 panchayats (besides panchayat samitis and zila parishads) and nearly 140 urban local bodies, how about the First Finance Commission’s recommendations implemented till date?