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‘Share of central taxes’, 'ombudsman's role': CMs demand at NITI Aayog meeting
On the issue of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel sought a five-year extension for the compensation paid to the state beyond June 2022, claiming that the state was facing a revenue shortfall due to the new tax mechanism.
At the NITI Aayog's seventh governing council meeting, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday urged the Centre to increase the state's share in the central taxes and duties, citing the rising burden on its resources. Also present at the meeting, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik said NITI Aayog can take up the role of an ombudsman and can resolve disputes between states and the Centre in the implementation of central schemes.
The governing council meeting of NITI Aayog was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rashtrapati Bhawan's Cultural Centre in the national capital.
The meeting was attended by chief ministers of all the states, excluding Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao and his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar. Notably, this meeting is the first in-person meeting of the Governing Council since July 2019.
“The chief minister demanded an increase in the state's share in the central taxes, citing that the burden on the resources of the states has been rising,” an official from the state public relations department said in a statement.
On the issue of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation, Baghel sought a five-year extension for the compensation paid to the state beyond June 2022, claiming that the state was facing a revenue shortfall due to the new tax mechanism.
The chief minister also urged the Centre to revise the royalty rate for major minerals, including coal, the official said.
As per the statement, Baghel sought a refund of the money deposited by the state government towards the National Pension System (NPS) since November 2004 along with accruals in the interest of government employees.
Patnaik said, "We all accept that the state and central government are political entities and sometimes there are disputes in the implementation of central schemes. NITI Aayog can resolve these issues like an ombudsman."
He added that Odisha has been historically neglected in the subjects that are on the central list such as telecom, railways and banking.
"We have the lowest density in all these crucial infrastructures and I would urge the central government to give special focus to Odisha," Patnaik said.
Odisha is impacted almost every year by natural disasters.
Speaking about Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana, he said the scheme has some implementation issues at the field level because of which genuine farmers were deprived in some cases.
