Sir, it will not, perhaps, be out of place if I refer here to the Canadian or Australian constitutions. The framers of those constitutions have evolved a better system of meeting the provincial requirements by giving better subsidies to the provincial units. Sir, in my province of Assam, there are special problems. The country is agricultural without any big industries. It is a land full of backward tribes and communities and a large number of backward people have been artificially transferred to that land as labourers to the tea plantations. Then there are the turbulent rivers which devastate the smiling countryside. There are also virulent diseases which bring about ruin to happy families. They need control. These are big problems and unless we have a better financial system, we cannot hope to meet these crying needs. No doubt, ours is a backward country, but I have to bring to the notice of this House that we are one of the largest contributors to the Central exchequer, by way of the export duty on tea and jute and the excise duty on petrol. By these means we contribute to the Central exchequer no less than seven crores of rupees. But, under the present financial arrangement we are receiving only a trifling subvention of Rs. 25 lakhs. I do hope that the expert committee which investigates this question hereafter will try to give a fair deal to Assam.
