J’khand raises DVC, Coal India issues at meeting with NITI Aayog

The Jharkhand government sought the Centre’s intervention for clearing the dues owed to the state by Coal India Limited, an official said. It also raised with the NITI Aayog the issue of funds being auto-debited from the RBI account for the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC). At a meeting with NITI Aayog officials in New Delhi, a delegation from the state headed by Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh drew their attention to issues related to various departments.

The officials also stressed on the need for separate tribal-centric policies for the betterment of Scheduled Tribes and setting up mineral-based industries in the state.

“Discussions were held to resolve issues pertaining to Coal India dues, Damodar Valley Corporation, GST, highways, irrigation, railways, civil aviation, tribal affairs, malnutrition etc,” the official who participated in the meeting said.

On the GST dues, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren had earlier urged the Centre to make a payment of Rs 1886.77 crore, the compensation that is due for financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22.

Soren had also requested the NITI Aayog to ensure there are no further deductions of funds by the Centre as Jharkhand is struggling with a resource crunch and many central public sector enterprises owe a huge amount of money to the state.