Dharmendra Pradhan Allays Odisha’s Fear Over ToR Of 15th Finance Commission

Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday termed Odisha government’s apprehensions over 15^th Finance Commission as baseless and clarified that there will be no cut in allocation to the state.

At a media conference here, the Union Minister said, “It seems that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has either not read or not been properly explained about the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 15^th Finance Commission as is evident from his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioning that it may affect devolution of resources to the state. Such apprehensions are baseless as the PM had already clarified on the issue.”

Pradhan said the states performing better in achieving population stabilization will receive more benefits under the 15^th Finance Commission. “As per the 2011 census data, Odisha has performed better in birth control in comparison to 1971. The state has performed well in 2011 as its population figures have stabilised. Hence, the state will receive more funds, if the Commission uses data based on 2011 census,” he added.