Substantial Devolution To Local Govts Prior To SFCs
Kerala’s decentralisation shows the provision of substantial untied funds for local prioritisation and local resource allocation to identified priority areas. This was not recommended by any State Finance Commission but was a policy decision taken by the State Government at the beginning of the 9th Five Year Plan.While the State has been able to go beyond what is strictly essential (as per SFC reports) and has been able to consolidate Centrally Sponsored schemes in some cases leading to welcome increase in the untied grants recently, there has unfortunately a drop in the statutory grants which is wholly unwelcome.
Also, it has been noticed that restriction of actual flows to PRIs get aggravated every time there is a glitch in the state finances. Thus, even when credited to their Treasury accounts, the panchayats are not able to use the funds because the finance department will not release them. The performance audit shows up some lacunae which have to mostly do with the outmoded accounting and record keeping.
However all this should not detract from the many positive features in Kerala case such as transparency especially in beneficiary selection, RTI, social audit which need to be further encouraged, strengthened and emulated by other states.
Read more about this topic: State Finance Commission (Kerala)
Famous quotes containing the words substantial, local and/or prior:
“America is like one of those old-fashioned six-cylinder truck engines that can be missing two sparkplugs and have a broken flywheel and have a crankshaft thats 5000 millimeters off fitting properly, and two bad ball-bearings, and still runs. Were in that kind of situation. We can have substantial parts of the population committing suicide, and still run and look fairly good.”
—Thomas McGuane (b. 1939)
“There is the falsely mystical view of art that assumes a kind of supernatural inspiration, a possession by universal forces unrelated to questions of power and privilege or the artists relation to bread and blood. In this view, the channel of art can only become clogged and misdirected by the artists concern with merely temporary and local disturbances. The song is higher than the struggle.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)
“Euphelia serves to grace my measure,
But Chloe is my real flame.”
—Matthew Prior (16641721)