Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel today attended the eighth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister.
Apart from the agenda points related to the meeting, the Chief Minister kept his points on various schemes and subjects related to the state interest. The chief ministers of all the states were present on this occasion.
Talking on the agenda of the meeting, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said on the role of Team India, developed India of 2047 that the states have an important role in maintaining the unity and integrity of the country intact. He said that the central government should respect the rights of the states and strengthen the system of transferring its share of resources as well.
Emphasizing on MSMEs, the Chief Minister said that the Rural and Cottage Industrial Policy 2023-24 has been announced with the aim of promoting entrepreneurship in rural and cottage areas in the state and using the resources of the area at the local level.
He said that only 25-30 per cent iron ore is being made available by NMDC to the units located in the state. He urged to make available adequate iron ore for the units of the state.
He said that the MSME industries of Chhattisgarh are not getting coal from SECL for the last 2-3 years as per the requirement of the state. The Chief Minister urged to take action on this subject to secure the interests of Chhattisgarh.
Baghel said that in order to promote industrialization in the tribal region of Bastar, MoUs have been signed for capital investment of about 9 thousand crore rupees in the last four years. Out of this, 3 million tonnes of iron ore would be required annually for the steel industries.
He requested that iron ore should be kept in reserve according to the production capacity of these steel plants and made available on a priority basis. Along with this, a 30 per cent discount should also be given on the rate of iron ore by NMDC under special incentive.
The Chief Minister suggested to implement MNREGA in cities with less than 20 thousand population. He also requested to appoint a nodal officer for the early start and coordination of international air service from Raipur airport.
In the meeting, Baghel raised the demand for setting up solar power plants in 10 aspirational districts of Chhattisgarh as well as establishing solar power plants up to 5 MW as green activities and demanded exemption from forest diversion under the Forest Conservation Act.
The Chief Minister said that there should be an integrated MIS system for all programs for the care of women and children. Along with this, he requested to increase the share of Centre-State funding to 75:25 under Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
Revenue loss to states due to GST, need for permanent arrangement: CM Baghel
Apart from this, he also raised the issue of refunds of Rs 19,000 crore deposited in the New Pension Scheme and compensation of the GST grant. The Chief Minister said that the states have suffered a loss of revenue due to the GST tax system.
A permanent arrangement should be made at the earliest to compensate for the revenue loss of the producing states like Chhattisgarh. The state's share in central taxes is getting less. The Chief Minister demanded that an amount of 2659 crores be made available to the state in this financial year.
The Chief Minister urged to transfer the amount of Rs 4170 crores of additional levy received from minerals to Chhattisgarh.
On the other hand, in the civil suit petition submitted by the Government of Chhattisgarh in the Supreme Court in this matter, the Central Government requested to present the reply soon and resolve it.
The Chief Minister demanded a revision of royalty rates for coal and other major minerals. He said that due to non-amendment, the financial interests of the state are being adversely affected. Baghel also urged the central government to bear the security expenditure of Rs 11828 crores on the deployment of central forces and free the state from these arrears.
