Criteria for backward states to be revised

In a move that could help cement the newfound convergence with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar,the Centre is set to move quickly on revising the criteria

In a move that could help cement the newfound convergence with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar,the Centre is set to move quickly on revising the criteria for backward states,with government sources indicating that the new norms should be firmed in the coming couple of months.

However,government sources said this was not Bihar-specific in a bid to counter the perception that the Congress was trying to reach out to the JD U. The Centres line is that these criteria had now become outdated and a change could also benefit many other states like Chhattisgarh,Orissa and even parts of Rajasthan.

In specific terms,sources pointed to features like a backward state should have vast hilly areas and share an international boundary. Instead,the government now wants more objective criteria like per capita income,infant mortality rate,maternal mortality rate among other indices to be included.

Dismissing the existing set of criteria as absurd,sources said,they were clearly made keeping in mind Himachal Pradesh,Uttarakhand,Jammu amp; Kashmir and the Northeast,while backwardness in several other states remained unaddressed.

It may be recalled that Finance Minister P Chidambaram had mentioned the governments intention to take a relook at these criteria in his budget speech. This was immediately endorsed by Nitish Kumar,who for this reason,supported the Budget despite the overall stand of his principal ally the BJP.

A couple of weeks later,Nitish addressed a rally in Delhi,where he expressed support to similar demands from other states,particularly West Bengal and Orissa both ruled by non-Congress,non-BJP parties like the TMC and the BJD. However,on the question of a package for debt-stressed states like Bengal,Punjab and Kerala,sources said,the Finance Commission is looking into the matter and may announce grants in certain specific areas.