Feb 9: Exhorting Chief Ministers to bury differences to help India achieve high growth and create jobs, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday promised more funds to states with greater powers on their utilisattion, even as he asked them to address issues delaying projects.
Modi at the first Governing Council meeting of the newly-constituted NITI Aayog asked Chief Ministers to personally monitor factors impacting project execution and suggested that an officer be identified in each state to monitor and resolve pending issues.
He offered to transfer some of the 66 centrally sponsored schemes, for which Rs 3,38,562 crore was provided in 2014-15, to states. A sub-group of Chief Ministers would be set up under NITI Aayog to look into rationalisation of these 66 schemes and recommend which ones "to continue, which to transfer to states, and which to cut down".
"We will move away from 'one size fits all' schemes and forge a better match between the schemes and the needs of states," Modi said.
Modi also announced setting up of two more such sub-groups -- one for skill development and creation of jobs within states and the other to create an institutional framework to make 'Swachh Bharat (Clean India)' a continuous initiative.
He said the new body, which replaced the long-standing socialist era plan body Planning Commission, will forge a model of "co-operative and competitive federalism".
"Forgetting all our differences, let us focus on the cycle of investment, growth, job creation and prosperity," he said at the meeting attended by Chief Ministers and representatives of 31 states and Union Territories, addressing them as 'Team India'.
Noting that India cannot advance without all its states advancing in tandem, the Prime Minister said the idea was to bring up all states together in the spirit of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'.
Later briefing reporters, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that Modi told CMs that "the priorities are growth, investment, jobs, poverty alleviation, decentralisation, efficiency and no delay in execution of projects".
The Prime Minister, Jaitley said, also highlighted that the economic activity really is to take place in states and therefore states have an important role to play.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee skipped the meet, but Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Manjhi, who is facing a political turmoil back home, was present. States like Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh demanded more funds for states, while Kerala sought greater flexibility in central allocations.
Greater Transparency
Several states demanded more funds and flexibility under centrally-sponsored schemes, while non-BJP ruled states, including Uttar Pradesh, asked for greater transparency and non-discretion in allocations.
Congress-ruled Kerala suggested that the new body should decide on state quotas in the same manner the erstwhile Planning Commission used to do.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said vertical devolution of share to the states should be at least 50 per cent of the aggregate resources available with the Centre.
"We believe that the non-transparent, discretionary and uncertain fashion in which funds were allocated and disbursed to States by the erstwhile Planning Commission and by different Central Ministries under various centrally sponsored schemes must be comprehensively overhauled," he said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav made a case for at least 90 per cent of grants under central schemes.
Emphasising on continuous interaction between the states and the Centre, Yadav urged the Prime Minister to make the process of allocation of funds to states more transparent and ensure that there was no room for "discretion" while allocating funds to the states.
NITI Aayog was set up as a think-tank for the Centre and states on January 1 replacing over six-decade old Planning Commission.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu sought a special status category for the state besides an increase in central assistance.
Naidu lamented that central assistance to Andhra Pradesh was "disproportionate" to the state population and less than the amount Telangana received.
"While the state has a population of 58 per cent of the entire population of Andhra and Telengana put together, they are only getting central assistance of 48 per cent of the total central assistance to the region.
"On the other hand, Telangana, which has 41 per cent of the entire population of Andhra and Telangana, is getting 52 per cent of the central assistance," he told reporters after the meeting.
(PTI)
