KOLKATA: Chief minister Mamata Banerjeehas always pointed out that the state gets a very small share of the tax collected while the majority remains with the central government. Her views found support in Ashok Mitra, formerfinance minister of Bengal during the Left Front regime.
"The central government usurps 69% of the tax which is collected while the rest 31% is disbursed among the states. Only the Centre is allowed to take loans from various international monetary funds and global organizations, including other rich nations, while states cannot exercise such a right. However, the state is responsible for maintaining law and order, providing a good health system and imparting education. Since the law and order system has broken down, more funds have to be allocated to the police. The health and education departments have also not got their dues. The problems lies with the state while the central government will control policies that cannot be accepted.
If states are not provided greater freedom, they will perish," said Mitra. He was delivering the second Prasanta Sur Memorial Lecture at the Calcutta Institute of Engineering and Management on Wednesday.
"The government's involvement in the process to purchase land for private companies to ensure industrialization in a state is not advisable. It is also not possible for the private players to purchase the total land required for setting up of factories.
An ideal condition is when the owners of the land are also given part ownership in the factories. Only then can industrialization speed," added Mitra.
While speaking at the second Prasanta Sur memorial lecture at the Calcutta Institute of Engineering and Management Mitra went on a trip down memory lane, talking about Sur who was his colleague at the state cabinet as a PWD minister. "Both Vidyasagar Setu and Yuva Bharati Krirangan could be built after relentless effort of Sur. However when both were inaugurated, no one from the government invited him."
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