Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat emphatically presented the case of Uttarakhand before the visiting team of 15th Finance Commission on Tuesday.
In the meeting, held at the State secretariat, CM, accompanied by the State Finance Minister Prakash Pant, raised the demands like special package for the State due to its tough geographical conditions, sensitivity of the State towards natural disasters and additional cost the State has to bear for various infrastructural projects.
The issue for compensation to the State for its ecological services to the nation and the loss incurred by the state due to recommendations of 14th Finance Commission have also been discussed in course of the meeting.
CM said that the 13th Finance Commission had provided special grant to encourage the State while the 14 Finance Commission has proved a grave damper.
He said that due to factors like low population density, 70 percent area under forest cover and unique geological and geographical conditions, the State has no scope for Economy of Scale and Aggregation Economy.
Rawat, further, said that despite remaining beset with challenges, the State has succeeded in increasing its average growth rate which has jumped to 12.28 percent per year in 2012-13 from 2.9 percent in 1993-94.
Raising the issue of environmental laws and their detrimental effects on the development works like hydro power projects, CM said that the nation has been deprived from clean energy and the state has to incur high revenue losses from such laws.
He told the commission that the economic package offered by the Union Government for Uttarakhand had brought about a rise in the growth rate. But after abrupt end of package in 2010, the entrepreneurs have been showing less interest in setting up industrial units in the State, he said.
Rawat also forcefully put up the case of grant of Green Bonus to Uttarakhand for the valuable ecological services rendered by it to the country before the commission.
Besides the chairman N K Singh, the members of commission Shakti Kant Dass, Anoop Singh, Ashok Lahiri and Ramesh Chand were present at the meeting.
