NITI Aayog meet: Rajasthan CM seeks increase in financial aid, national project status to ERCP

India

pti-PTI

Jaipur, Aug 07:
Rajasthan
Chief
Minister
Ashok
Gehlot
on
Sunday
asked
the
Centre
to
increase
the
financial
assistance
for
various
centrally
sponsored
schemes,
and
sought
national
project
status
to
the
ambitious
Eastern
Rajasthan
Canal
Project
(ERCP).

Speaking
at
the
NITI
Aayog’s
Governing
Council
meeting
chaired
by
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
in
New
Delhi,
the
chief
minister
strongly
took
up
the
issues
related
to
Rajasthan.
Gehlot
said
that
ERCP
is
an
ambitious
project
worth
Rs
37,000
crore,
which
will
provide
irrigation
facility
to
about
an
area
of
two
lakh
hectares
in
13
districts
of
eastern
Rajasthan.

He
said
that
the
project
will
also
help
solve
the
problem
of
drinking
water
in
these
districts.
The
chief
minister
said
the
prime
minister
had
earlier
promised
to
adopt
a
positive
attitude
regarding
this
project
and
asserted
that
this
project
would
also
help
in
the
successful
implementation
of
Jal
Jeevan
Mission.

Gehlot
said
that
due
to
the
changes
made
in
the
economic
participation
pattern
of
various
centrally
sponsored
schemes,
additional
financial
burden
is
being
placed
on
the
states.
He
demanded
from
the
Centre
to
extend
the
period
of
GST
compensation
by
five
years
to
June,
2027,
and
to
release
the
arrears
of
GST
compensation
amount
of
about
Rs
3,780
crore
to
Rajasthan
in
a
lump
sum
from
2017-18.

Gehlot
said
that
on
the
lines
of
Chief
Minister
Chiranjeevi
Swasthya
Bima
Yojna,
the
Centre
should
also
increase
the
scope
of
‘Ayushman
Bharat
Health
Insurance
Scheme’.
In
the
chief
ministers’ meeting,
Gehlot
drew
the
attention
of
the
prime
minister
towards
his
goal
of
doubling
the
income
of
farmers
and
said
that
the
monthly
income
of
farmer
families
in
2018-19
was
estimated
at
about
Rs
10,218
by
the
National
Sample
Survey
Organization
(NSSO).

Now,
keeping
in
mind
the
rate
of
inflation,
this
income
should
be
around
Rs
21,600
per
month,
he
said.
In
order
to
increase
the
income
of
the
farmers,
the
chief
minister
has
demanded
a
substantial
hike
in
the
budget
of
MGNREGA
scheme,
and
sought
an
increase
in
the
amount
given
to
the
farming
families
under
‘Pradhan
Mantri
Kisan
Samman
Nidhi
Yojana’
to
Rs
2,000
per
month.
Giving
information
about
the
unprecedented
progress
being
made
in
the
field
of
education
in
Rajasthan,
the
chief
minister
claimed
that
Rajasthan
has
the
highest
number
of
89
universities
in
the
country,
out
of
which
three
are
women’s
universities.

He
said
that
Rajasthan
ranks
first
in
the
performance
grading
index
of
schools.
Gehlot
has
demanded
the
implementation
of
the
‘Bal
Gopal’
scheme
at
the
national
level
to
provide
milk
to
children
two
days
a
week
through
mid-day
meal
scheme
in
Rajasthan,
as
well
as
to
include
children
from
classes
9
to
12
under
the
right
to
education
(RTE).

The
chief
minister
also
demanded
special
grant
to
the
colleges
opened
in
the
scheduled
areas
of
the
state,
like
in
the
North-Eastern
states
and
to
open
a
global
university
in
the
state.
In
the
meeting,
Gehlot
demanded
implementation
of
the
recommendation
of
the
15th
Finance
Commission
to
give
central
assistance
of
Rs
400
crore
for
Digital
University
in
Rajasthan.
He
said
that
the
state
government
is
also
ready
to
spend
Rs
200
crore
for
setting
up
the
digital
fintech
university
to
be
opened
in
Jodhpur.
Rajasthan
Chief
Secretary
Usha
Sharma
was
also
present
in
the
meeting.