Agartala | The Northeastern states have jointly raised concerns with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over the proposed withdrawal of the revenue gap fund following the recommendations of the 16th Finance Commission, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said on Sunday.

Saha said the withdrawal could put additional pressure on the finances of the Northeastern states, with Tripura alone expected to face an annual shortfall of around Rs 4,000 crore. The issue was raised collectively at a meeting of representatives of the Northeastern states with Sitharaman in Shillong, he said.

The Centre has sanctioned a fund titled ‘Pride of Hills’ to meet financial requirements in the region. However, Saha said the allocation may not be adequate to make up for the anticipated revenue gap resulting from the withdrawal of the existing fund.

Tripura Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy had earlier warned that the state could lose around Rs 4,000 crore annually, translating into nearly Rs 20,000 crore over five years. The state government had also drawn the Finance Commission’s attention to its growing fiscal burden, particularly expenditure commitments towards government employees and pensioners.

The issue assumes added significance amid discussions over the proposed 8th Pay Commission, which is expected to revise salaries and allowances of government employees, potentially increasing the financial burden on states.

Despite the concerns over revenue availability, Saha said the state government’s recruitment drive would not be affected.”We have to fill up vacant posts as much as possible if there are no technical problems,” the Chief Minister said.

He said the government would continue efforts to fill vacancies across departments and create employment opportunities. While technical issues could occasionally delay the recruitment process, they would not stop the government from making appointments, he added.

Saha also said the state government was taking measures to prevent any arbitrary increase in the prices of essential commodities.

He said he had discussed the issue with the Food Minister and directed the authorities to engage with traders and other market stakeholders to ensure that prices were not raised unreasonably.

The Chief Minister said the Northeastern states would continue to press the Centre for greater financial support, citing the region’s distinct fiscal and developmental challenges.

The states have maintained that any reduction in revenue support needs to be assessed against their limited revenue-generating capacity and relatively high expenditure commitments, particularly on salaries, pensions and essential public services.