The 15th Finance Commission headed by former bureaucrat and Rajya Sabha member NK Singh and its members Ajay Narayan Jha, Dr Ashok Lahiri, Dr Ramesh Chand, Dr Anoop Singh arrived in Lucknow on Monday.

The Finance Commission met representatives of panchayat bodies, urban local bodies, trade and industry and political parties. The representatives gave their suggestions to the Finance Commission.  

Some issues brought up during the meeting included the requirement for civic amenities, lack of safe drinking water and property tax as a source of income. The Finance Commission noted all concerns and promised to address them in its recommendations to the government.

Representatives of trade and industry associations present in the meeting included, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, Confederation of Indian Industries, Indian Industries Association, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Federation of Indian Commerce, Chamber of Industries and Laghu Udyog Bharati.

Various issues relating to trade and industry in the state were discussed in the meeting.

The Finance Commission noted all concerns highlighted by the representatives of UP trade and industry and promised to address them in its recommendations to the Union government.

The main concerns of  panchayat bodies in Uttar Pradesh include lack of financial resources for development, water scarcity, property tax as a source of income, poor social indicators, requirement for civic amenities like panchayat bhawans, mortuaries, road and drainage infrastructure, need for creation of check dams, problem of  stray cattle, lack of safe drinking water, lack of funds for creation of public libraries, recreational areas and sports activities.

Representatives of the panchayat bodies who met the Finance Commission included chairmen of district panchayats, block pramukhs and members of district panchayat and kshetra panchayat. The panchayat leaders were from Meerut, Banda, Gorakhpur, Lalitpur, Lucknow, Mirzapur, Jhansi, Barabanki, Chitrakoot and Sitapur.

The Finance Commission’s visit to UP started on October 19 from Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Finance Commission made field visits to inspect implementation of various government flagship programmes in the holy city and also visited Handloom Centre and Urban Rejuvenation Project in Varanasi.

On the final day, on Tuesday, the Finance Commission will have a detailed meeting with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his cabinet colleagues and the state government officials.

A presentation will be made before the Finance Commission on the state’s finances and developmental/flagship programmes of Uttar Pradesh government.