Badal asks for more fiscal autonomy for states

Muktsar, Mar 18 (UNI) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today pleaded for more financial autonomy to the states and urged the Union Government to review the Centre-State relations in the changed political scenario in the country.

He also called upon the regional parties to play a constructive role for seeking more financial powers for the states.

''The review of centre-state relations has become necessary as the strength of regional parties has grown over the years and also it has been seen that the ruling political parties at the Centre tend to ignore interests of states, thereby hampering the process of the development and growth'', he said while talking to mediapersons after addressing 'Sangat Darshan'' programmes at Aspal, Sarwawn Bodla, Kabbarwala, Kattianwali and Pakki Tibbi villages in the Lambi constituency of this district.

Elaborating further, he said that there were few taxes which had become absolutely meaningless because the state government had to shell out more resources for their collection, than the actual revenue realised through these. In this context he refered to 'Abiana' (tax on use of canal water) and said that the state government had decided to abolish it immediately.

He said that he was in favour of those taxes that were remunerative and beneficial to the states.

Refering to the construction of the link roads under the Pardhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, he demanded that this scheme should be directly under the control of states and not the Centre. Only the states could decide about the construction of roads in accordance with their requirements and priority, he added.

UNI