The General Council meeting of the Niti Aayog was held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on Sunday. (Source: Twitter/ PMO)
At the fourth Niti Aayog governing council meeting in New Delhi on Sunday, chief ministers from several states laid down their demands before the Centre and the Aayog. The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerejee, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Karnataka CM H D Kumaraswamy, Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Aditya Nath were among the chief ministers who attended the meet.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami:
* GST: Handing over of indirect taxes to individual states; power to collect personal income tax
* Immediate operationalization of Cauvery Water Management Board
* Nationalisation of rivers shared by states
Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje:
* Declaring Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) a project of national importance
* Special assistance for dealing with water scarcity
* Environmental initiatives for ground water improvement
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan:
* Changes in funding pattern of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS)
* Power to collect indirect taxes under GST
* AIIMS in Kerala
Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh:
* Farm loan waiver
* Central assistance for festivals and anniversaries
* Special one-time infrastructure development package for border areas of Punjab.
Nitish Kumar:
* Replacing the Mid Day Meal scheme with direct benefit transfer of funds.
* Special category status to Bihar
Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao:
* Tax incentives for fast-growing states
* “Removal of rigidness” of certain Centrally-sponsored schemes
* MGNREGA funds be tagged to agriculture with 50 per cent contribution from farmers
Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat:
* Separate ministry for hills and north-eastern states
* Central assistance in relocating villages prone to disasters
* ‘Encouragement’ for states working towards environment conservation
Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy:
* 50 per cent assistance in farm loan waiver
* Expertise for climate resilient agriculture
* Allocation of funds for Karnataka under the State Disaster Response Fund