PANJIM: As the local governing bodies have limited ability to be financially empowered, the three-member Third State Finance Commission has laid focus on making the Rural and Urban local bodies self-reliant by way of empowering them towards augmentation of own sources of revenue.
The Commission headed by former retired finance secretary IAS Daulat Hawaldar is likely to submit its report to the State government by December end, this year, recommending various measures to strengthen the local bodies and to bring sustainability at local governing level. The five-year plan will be implemented between 2024 and 2029. The Commission is also likely to recommend mandatory training for local elected members through GPARD.
After almost 12 years, in January 2022, the State government had constituted the Third State Finance Commission under Hawaldar with Y Durgaprasad as the member secretary and Gurunath Potekar as its member. Apart from this, Director Panchayat, Director Accounts, Director Municipal Administration and Joint Secretary Finance are special invitees on the Commission.
The formation of the Third State Finance Commission was pending since 2009-10, after the term of Second State Finance Commission headed by IAS officer late Alban Couto expired in 2010.
The Commission, so far, has visited and inspected finances of all 13 municipal corporations and village panchayats from eight talukas. The visit to panchayats from Bardez, Tiswadi, Salcete and Ponda is pending. Currently, scrutiny of panchayats from Bicholim is underway.
Highly placed sources confirmed that the Commission had interactions with local elected representatives, during which it was realised that the local bodies are not financially sustainable despite having various assets from which revenue can be augmented.
“Own Sources of Revenues (OSRs) is one of the instruments of fiscal federalism for local bodies. At present, rural local bodies are widely dependent on the Central and State Finance Commission Grants for providing basic services,” sources said.
Article 243H of the Constitution makes provision for financial empowerment of panchayat raj institutions thereby giving powers to levy, collect and appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees etc.
Sources said that actual empowerment to RLBs can be ensured through empowering them to earn their OSRs for bringing sustainability, self-reliance in providing need-based services to their panchayats and municipalities.
“The local bodies, over the years, eventually will have to do away with their dependence on the State for funding and guidance,” sources said.
Sources informed that the report of the Second State Finance Commission remained non-implemented after it was submitted in 2008. “The reports are time barred. They have to be implemented within those five year planning processes or else they stand non valid,” sources said.
Goa Finance Commission was established in the State in 1999 as per the guidelines laid down in the Indian Constitution. The chairman of the first Goa Finance Commission that was set up in 1999 was Dr V A Pai Panandikar.
