August 2, 2022
Jawhar Sircar’s Supplementary Question on whether the cess collected by the Central government can be specifically used to fulfil demands in sectors which fall short of funds
Sir, while thanking hon. Minister for the reply given, I have two sharp questions. The first one is in support of what Dr.Kanimozhi has said. It is a long-standing demand that Cesses be stopped,since they are being taken unilaterally by the Centre. In a federal system that has evolved for over 75 years, we need to take a fresh look at it. And,Cesses are often charged to make bridge finance. She knows it. I know it.We know it. Now, coming to the question, when you mentioned that more than Cesses collected are actually going to the States – not devolved – as Central Sector Grants, I will give you only one example. We have started with the Education Cess. With so much Education Cess and so much of revenue coming to the Central Government, the total expenditure on education has not touched one per cent of the GDP! It was one per cent last year. It has come down to less than one per cent now. The cashstarved States, which do not have cash put together have contributed 3.5 per cent of the GDP to education. I am only appealing to you, as somebody
