New Delhi: The central government on Tuesday reiterated at the Rajya Sabha that it is not possible to grant a special status to Andhra Pradesh, responding to a question asked by YCP MP Subhash Chandra Bose. In a written reply to the question, Union Minister Inderjit Singh Rao that the administration is providing grants to states that have a deficit of resources, and due to the circumstances, Andhra Pradesh cannot be given a special status.
"Due to various reasons and special circumstances, the National Development Council had given special status to some states in the past. The 14th Finance Commission has not made any difference regarding the distribution of taxes between General Category States and Special Status States," he said.
"The 14th Finance Commission has considered many factors to transfer funds according to the needs of states under Plan and Non-Plan. According to the recommendations of the Finance Commission, the Center has increased the share of taxes distributed to the states from 32 percent to 42 percent between 2015-20," he said.
Also read: Majority of undertrial prisoners belong to SC, ST and OBC communities: TMC spokesperson in RS
"Further to this, the 15th Finance Commission has also recommended a 41 percent tax share," Rao said, further adding that the Center is trying to provide resources to every state as much as possible through the distribution of funds. The Union Minister explained that even after the distribution of funds, grants are being provided to the states that have a deficit of resources to fill up the revenue deficit, thereby clarifying that special status to the state of Andhra Pradesh remains out of question.
