Nitish meets PM, says FinComm to cost state Rs 50,000 cr

Bihar Chief Nitish Kumar today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here and contended that his state will lose Rs 50,000 crore due to implementation of the 14th Finance Commission recommendations which he wanted to be compensated by the Centre.

Kumar, who had snapped his party JD(U)'s 17-year-old alliance with BJP in 2013 after it projected Modi as Prime Ministerial candidate for 2014 polls, met the Prime Minister for the first time.

Emerging from the meeting, the Chief Minister said he raised the issue of implementation of the Finance Commission recommendations which he contended will lead to an "estimated Rs 50,000 crore loss" to the state.

He said the Centre's share in Centrally-sponsored schemes has been decreased.

"Altogether, it has been a loss to Bihar. That is why I have requested that Bihar should be compensated for this," Kumar told reporters.

"The second issue that I have raised is that there is a question mark now also on the special assistance that Bihar used to get under BRGF (Backward Regions Grant Fund) after the bifurcation of the state in 2000. Our doubts should be resolved. We should get that money and we should keep getting that money even in future," he said.

He said the central government has already given its nod for all the schemes that are to be implemented in five years with the Rs 12000 crore fund that the state has got.

PMO said the meeting was a "courtesy call".

An all-party meeting convened by Kumar in Bihar on March 23, which was boycotted by the BJP, had decided to "write" to the Prime Minister about the "estimated Rs 50,000 crore loss" to the state due to the Finance Commission recommendations.

The meeting attended by leaders from RJD, Congress, CPI and CPI(M), had decided to ask the Centre to compensate for the huge financial loss to Bihar due to the recommendations and let the special assistance being given under Backward Region Grants Fund (BRGF) continue and increase funds provided to the state.