Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya Discusses Himachal Pradesh’s Green Bonus in Shimla

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 24: Arvind Panagariya, the Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission of India, addressed the media in Shimla, stating that the share of a state cannot be looked at in isolation. He emphasized the need to consider all 28 states in the country.

During the media address, Panagariya responded to questions about a green bonus for Himachal Pradesh, explaining that it is too early in the Commission’s tenure to make any definitive statements. He noted that the task of dividing the central government’s total tax revenues between the central government and the states is a significant one, spanning five years.

The green bonus is compensation from the central government for the ‘environmental services’ provided by the state. Panagariya mentioned that the state government had given a detailed presentation of 90 slides, which lasted for three hours, and that the meetings were cordial.

The team of the 16th Finance Commission is on a three-day visit to Shimla, with Himachal Pradesh being the first state for their consultation visit. During the meeting, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu requested that Himachal Pradesh be included in the special category state, citing higher construction costs and unique disaster situations in hill states.

Sukhu stated, “The hill states should be kept under special consideration in 41 per cent taxes share. We have a higher cost of construction; the parameters of the plain will not be applicable in the hills. We have kept our view seriously, we hope the finance commission during the next one and a half years on its recommendations will consider our demands. We have also said that in disaster the NDRF and SDRF parameters can’t be like in plain areas, we have different disaster situations.”