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Tribune News Service
Jammu, March 27
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said dispensing with the 90:10 funding pattern for the Centrally sponsored schemes for special category states would have serious implications for J&K, which is strategically located and has seen a difficult period since 1947.
He said states such as J&K and the northeast, which had the disadvantage of location coupled with challenging security scenario, would be severely handicapped if the 90:10 funding pattern was done away with.
“We have seen a turnaround for the better in these states now. The recommendations to change the funding pattern and delink some Centrally sponsored schemes from the Central support will seriously hamper the implementation of these schemes in a state like ours,” the CM said.
Mufti was speaking at the NITI Aayog in New Delhi today during the meeting of the sub-group of 10 Chief Ministers. While suggesting cutting down of the Central schemes from the present 66 to 17 mega schemes, Mufti said the other schemes should be wound up and their resources subsumed in the 17 mega schemes.
“More than 86% funds are being sourced to 17 flagship programmes under the Centrally sponsored schemes. It will be prudent if other 14% funds allocated to 49 other schemes are transferred for a more coordinated implementation of the Central schemes in states,” he said.
Asking the Centre to do away with its policy of one size fits all for forging a better match between schemes and needs of the states, Mufti urged the Centre to consider funding pattern of all Centrally sponsored schemes for special category states in the ratio of 90:10. He said it was quite possible that fiscal imbalance in states could be caused by the fiscal mismanagement of the Centre.
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