IN their time allotted for intervention on the assembly of the Governing Council of Niti Aayog, Chief Ministers of Opposition-ruled states raised a spread of points: authorized assure on Minimum Support Price for farm output, scarcity of IAS officers, GST exemptions, greater allocation of funds for states, and enough session with states on coverage points.
The CMs from Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, and Left-ruled Kerala, known as for an extension of compensation from shortfall in income because of the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax. The Punjab CM from Aam Aadmi Party sought a authorized assure for MSP, the Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal CM flagged want for extra IAS officers, and the Jharkhand CM sought a particular bundle to cope with the repercussions of rain deficit, in keeping with sources.
Telangana CM Okay Chandrashekhar Rao, who didn’t attend the assembly on Sunday, had mentioned on Saturday that he would skip it to protest “the Centre’s attitude”; he additionally objected to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “dismissing of welfare schemes as freebies”. At a press briefing later within the night, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Berry mentioned there have been no discussions round “freebies” throughout the assembly.
Sunday’s Governing Council assembly was attended by 23 CMs, three Lieutenant Governors and two Administrators and Union Ministers. The Chief Ministers of Bihar, Telangana, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Mizoram, the LG of Puducherry, and the Administrator of Chandigarh didn’t attend the assembly.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan mentioned the laws on topics within the Concurrent List – that are of widespread curiosity to each the Center and states – ought to be initiated solely after “adequate consultation”. The Center ought to desist from legislating on gadgets within the State listing, he mentioned. He additionally careworn on the necessity to overview the choice to impose GST on important gadgets and revocation of restrictions on borrowing limits of states.
Vijayan additionally urged for monetary help for enhancing palm oil processing infrastructure and requested that the Centre’s share of help below the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) ought to be elevated since the price of supplies has risen considerably particularly alongside the state’s shoreline. He known as for a time-bound completion of the highway initiatives and early clearance of the state’s proposals for the event of rail and air visitors.
Pointing out that Chhattisgarh may doubtlessly undergo losses to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore as a consequence of GST implementation, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel demanded a five-year extension for the compensation grant for states for income shortfall. He claimed the state has obtained round Rs 13,000 crore much less in Central taxes within the final three years which was placing “extreme pressure” on its sources. He demanded reimbursement of over Rs 11,800 crore – expenditure incurred to get rid of Left-wing extremism, and likewise sought a selected coverage to allocate further sources to states like Chhattisgarh.
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, in the meantime, requested the Center to increase monetary assist and a particular bundle for the state on par with industrial packages given to hilly states. He rejected the Centre’s committee on MSP, saying it was dominated by “armchair economists who don’t have any knowledge about agriculture”. He known as for the reconstitution of the MSP committee and likewise requested for a particular bundle to extend the water carrying capability of canals within the state.
Newsletter , Click to get the day’s finest explainers in your inbox
Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren urged the Center to problem a particular bundle for Jharkhand to cope with the repercussions of the deficit of rain this yr. The state has thus far registered 50 per cent decrease rainfall with lower than 20 per cent of the paddy sowing goal achieved. He mentioned solely 13 lakh of the 38 lakh farmers within the state have been in a position to obtain advantages of the Kisan Credit Card as banks are delaying farmers’ onboarding course of. In the final two years, 5 lakh new farmers had been added to the listing, however greater than 10 lakh functions are nonetheless pending in numerous banks, he mentioned. He additionally requested reinstatement of the restrict for giving forest clearance by the state.
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot reiterated the state’s demand for declaring Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) as a nationwide mission. He mentioned the change in monetary participation sample of Centrally Sponsored Schemes has led to further burden on states. He mentioned the Center ought to lengthen the interval of GST compensation by 5 years from June 2022 to June 2027 and demanded launch of about Rs 3,780 crore in the direction of GST compensation for his state.
,
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
