Bhubaneswar,(Orissa Today) Feb 6: The Mohan Majhi government has sought a financial assistance of ₹12,59,158 crore from the 16th Finance Commission, led by Dr. Arvind Panagariya, for the next five years to implement its ‘Vikshit Odisha by 2036’ vision.
During a meeting attended by Chief Minister Mohan Majhi and senior officials, the state government urged the Commission to increase states’ share in central taxes from 41% to 50% and include cesses and surcharges in the divisible tax pool. Odisha also demanded 100% grants for the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and an increase in its share of total tax devolution from 4.528% to 4.964%.
The state proposed modifications in horizontal devolution criteria, including:
Replacing population-based weightage (15%) with “Vulnerable Sections of People” (SC/ST and elderly persons).
Considering population density (5%) instead of total area.
Changing forest & ecology weightage (10%) to forest cover.
Maintaining income distance weightage at 45%.
Increasing fiscal discipline weightage to 15% (from 2.5% for tax effort).
Reducing demographic performance weightage from 12.5% to 10%.
The Finance Commission team arrived in Odisha on Tuesday for a four-day visit, exploring Khandagiri, Udayagiri, and Kalabhoomi before visiting Puri Jagannath Temple and Konark’s Sun Temple.
Odisha seeks ₹12.59 lakh crore from 16th Finance Commission for ‘Vikshit Odisha by 2036’
