By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 30 Jan: The state government has constituted the Sixth State Finance Commission, with former Chief Secretary N Ravishankar appointed as the Chairman. Former IAS officers PS Jangpangi and MC Joshi have been appointed as members of the commission.
The commission will have a tenure of one year. It may be recalled that former Chief Secretary Indu Kumar Pandey was the Chairman of the Fifth Finance Commission, while Dr BK Joshi was the Chairman of Fourth State Finance Commission in Uttarakhand.
Among other things, the Commission has been given authority to call for any information or document from any officer or authority in the state and may summon any person for evidence or to produce documents. For this, it can determine its own procedure.
The Sixth Finance Commission is expected to provide recommendations for a five-year period starting from 1 April 2026. It has been asked to assess the financial position of the three-tier Panchayat Raj institutions and urban local bodies, prepare its recommendations, and submit them to the Governor.
Additional Secretary, Finance, Ahmed Iqbal, has been appointed as the Secretary of the commission. Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, Anand Bardhan issued a notification for the formation of the commission.
The Finance Commission will allocate share from the net income from taxes, duties, tolls, and fees among panchayats and urban local bodies at all levels and suggest measures to strengthen their financial position. It will also recommend additional resource mobilisation and any other matter considered by the Governor in the interest of the sound finances of the three-tier Panchayats and urban local bodies.
The commission will also assess the status of infrastructure in urban, semi-urban areas, and census towns, identify deficiencies, and suggest measures for improvement and enhancement. It has also been assigned the task to assess the status of implementation of reforms in PRIs and urban local bodies and suggest measures for improving governance and implementation.
While making its recommendations, the State Finance Commission has to take into account the revenue resources of the State Government and the demand thereon, particularly regarding expenditure on civil administration, debt servicing, and other committed expenditures or liabilities. It will also consider the resource mobilisation capacity for the coming years and the tax efforts made in this direction, as well as recommend additional resource mobilisation.
The commission will identify issues of the state’s interests for the Seventeenth Finance Commission of the Centre. It would also assess the debt position of Panchayats and urban local bodies at all levels as of 31 March 2025, and suggest corrective measures considering the financial requirements of the state. The commission will make specific recommendations regarding the provision of funds for expenditure on both revenue and capital sides and will identify issues for the Seventeenth Finance Commission.
