Finance panel has hurt state’s interests: MA Oommen

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Noted economist Prof M.A. Oommen has said that, contrary to the general impression, the award of the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC) had severely discriminated against the state.

He said the FFC’s “illogical” dependence on the 2011 census  and its “unconstitutional” neglect of democratic decentralisation while devolving funds to the states had badly hurt the state’s interests.

The FFC has given a weightage of 90 per cent for the 2011 population figures while distributing local government grants to the states.

“The undue weightage given to the population is iniquitous especially because of the use of the 2011 census figures,” Prof Oommen said while delivering a lecture organised by the Institute for Sustainable Development and Governance here on Monday.

He said that commissions over the years had used the 1971 population figures as the base to avoid possible bias or disadvantage to any state like Kerala, that had chosen to pursue family planning to contain the population.

The state’s growth rate, unlike states like Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh that stand to gain, is lower than even the replacement rate. If it was 3.93 percent in 1971, it had shrunk to 2.76 percent in 2011.

For the FFC, the excuse is that its terms of reference states that the commission may also take into account the demographic changes that have taken place subsequent to 1971.

Prof Oommen said that this qualification of ‘demographic changes’ did not necessarily mean the 2011 population. “Demographic changes also involve changes in fertility rate, ageing, migration and so on,” he said. For instance, between 1971 and 2011, 25 lakh people from other states have migrated to the state for work. “This should have been taken into account,” he said.