Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik objected to the radical changes made in the Terms of Reference of the 15th Finance Commission which would adversely effect flow of funds to the state.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister said the TOR has made significant departures from the Terms of Reference of previous Finance Commissions, which may have adverse impact on horizontal devolution for Odisha as well as vertical devolution for States.

Suggestions of due consultations prior to notification of the TOR have been ignored, he lamented. The TOR as notified put fetters on the remit of the Commission.

Instead of giving the freedom to the Commission to arrive at its recommendations on resource sharing between the Centre and States , there are leading suggestions in the ToR indicating the overriding priorities and concerns of the Union Government.

For instance, the reference to the impact of enhanced devolution recommended by the 14th Finance Commission on the fiscal situation of the Union Government and the imperative of New India- 2022 are suggestive of a particular direction being given to the Commission.

A radical departure has been made by mandating the Commission to use the population data of 2011 while making its recommendations. In order to encourage the States to stabilize population, successive National Population Policy Statements have taken 1971 Census population level as the basis for devolution, Grant-in-aid as well as other incentives.

Even the number of representatives in the Lok Sabha (on the basis of population) have been frozen at 1971 Census level through successive Constitutional amendments, the last being the 84th Constitutional amendment whereby the freeze was extended until 2026, said the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Asking the use of 2011 Census data is contrary to National Population Policy Statements and the assurances to States which have actively implemented population stabilisation measures.

The Chief Minister said this will have a huge adverse impact on our share in devolution as Odisha is already below the Population Replacement Rate of 2.1 indicating that we have stabilised our population.

Mr Patnaik demanded that population data of 1971 Census should be used by the 15th Finance Commission while making its recommendations. He iterated the demand for Special Category Status to Odisha.

Central schemes such as Special Plan for KBK, IAP for LWE affected districts, Backward Regions Grant Fund have been discontinued, he charged. The Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik sought the intervention of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard and make suitable changes in the TOR.