Hemant seeks more train, pending GST amount payment, MNREGA overhaul during PM meet

Ranchi: Chief minister Hemant Soren demanded for more special trains on a priority basis to bring back stranded migrants to the state during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video conference on Monday.
Soren also urged Modi to increase the MNREGA wages and the man-days, besides other relaxations in the rural job scenario to provide aid to the jobless migrants till the situation normalises. “We are faced with the challenge of scanning them and also giving them jobs. Hence, I appealed to the PM to relax the MNREGA norms, increase wages and the man.”
On the issue of lockdown extension, Soren told PM, “We will abide by whatever the Centre decides in the larger interest. There is no question of violating the Central norms.”
Stating that barely 10% of the total migrants have been brought back to Jharkhand, Hemant said, “So far, 55,000 migrants have arrived in Jharkhand via 24 trains but the number is too little compared to the nearly seven lakh workers of the state stranded across the country. Hence, I urge the PM to run more trains and chalk out other modes of transportation to help them get back to their homes at the earliest.”
On Monday, Modi held a meeting with all chief ministers, via video conference, to discuss strategies on bringing in relaxations once the lockdown is lifted. Monday’s meeting was attended by Union cabinet membes as well as other Union ministers. Modi sat through the entire meeting, which started around 3pm, listening and interacting with every chief minister, including Soren.
“We have a few demands which we hope we can place before the Union government in the next few weeks, but right now our biggest concern is to bring back the migrants safely,” Soren said.
Citing the recent example of a few migrants who were run over by a goods train when they were sleeping on tracks in Aurangabad district in Maharashtra, the CM said, “Helplessness and uncertainty among the migrants is leading to such accidents. We need to act fast to bring them back so that no migrant is forced to walk on tracks or on roads in order to reach home.”
Soren also raised the issue of Jharkhand’s poor state of financial condition and demanded payment of pending GST amounts and redrawing revenue sharing modalities between the Centre and the state. He said, “A poor state like ours is mostly dependent on the Centre for funds. Hence, I request clearing the pending GST amounts at the earliest. Almost every revenue generating source has dried up as it is in control of the Centre. Hence, I appeal to leave a few sources at the discretion of the state so that it can generate revenues.”