New Delhi NITI Aayog member Arvind Virmani on Wednesday advocated finding "practical" solutions to problems faced by states as many of them, such as Rajasthan and Odisha, have done well without obtaining state status. special category.
Virmani further said that in a democracy one has to recognize specific problems and find pragmatic solutions.
He was replying to a question on the issue of granting special category status (SCS) to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
"There have been committees and commissions that have tried to define criteria for special category status (for states). And again, it is a difficult issue," Virmani said.
The economist noted that in the last 30-40 years "we had BIMARU states."
“But Odisha, for example, developed a lot, Rajasthan developed a lot and things change.
"As far as I know, none of those states had special category status. That doesn't mean it's not important," he said.
Andhra Pradesh has been demanding special category status after its bifurcation in 2014 over loss of revenue when Hyderabad became the capital of Telangana.
Bihar has also been seeking special status since 2005, when Nitish Kumar was sworn in as its chief minister. The state also suffered revenue losses after mineral-rich Jharkhand was extracted from it in 2000.
"That's why in a democracy we have to discuss and find practical solutions," Virmani said.
He observed that there is always a way to say, "We recognize specific problems and we deal with those special problems."
The 14th Finance Commission increased the share of states in taxes collected by the Center from 32 per cent to 42 per cent, but abolished special category states.
The special status category was introduced in 1969 on the recommendation of the Fifth Finance Commission to benefit certain backward states with mountainous terrain, strategic international borders and economic and infrastructural backwardness.
With the support of N Chandrababu Naidu's TDP and Nitish Kumar's JD(U), which won 16 and 12 seats in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar respectively, and other alliance partners, the NDA has crossed the halfway mark to form the government at the Center.
Virmani further said that in a democracy one has to recognize specific problems and find pragmatic solutions.
He was replying to a question on the issue of granting special category status (SCS) to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
"There have been committees and commissions that have tried to define criteria for special category status (for states). And again, it is a difficult issue," Virmani said.
The economist noted that in the last 30-40 years "we had BIMARU states."
“But Odisha, for example, developed a lot, Rajasthan developed a lot and things change.
"As far as I know, none of those states had special category status. That doesn't mean it's not important," he said.
Andhra Pradesh has been demanding special category status after its bifurcation in 2014 over loss of revenue when Hyderabad became the capital of Telangana.
Bihar has also been seeking special status since 2005, when Nitish Kumar was sworn in as its chief minister. The state also suffered revenue losses after mineral-rich Jharkhand was extracted from it in 2000.
"That's why in a democracy we have to discuss and find practical solutions," Virmani said.
He observed that there is always a way to say, "We recognize specific problems and we deal with those special problems."
The 14th Finance Commission increased the share of states in taxes collected by the Center from 32 per cent to 42 per cent, but abolished special category states.
The special status category was introduced in 1969 on the recommendation of the Fifth Finance Commission to benefit certain backward states with mountainous terrain, strategic international borders and economic and infrastructural backwardness.
With the support of N Chandrababu Naidu's TDP and Nitish Kumar's JD(U), which won 16 and 12 seats in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar respectively, and other alliance partners, the NDA has crossed the halfway mark to form the government at the Center.
