New Delhi
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met the Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi on Saturday to discuss various financial issues related to Rajasthan.
He requested the centre to give approval to proposals of several pending drinking water projects and ensure timely release of funds of the centrally-sponsored schemes.
Gehlot said that as per the past practice the state’s share in the central taxes should be released to the respective states on the first date of the month.
He said that as this practice had been changed since past few years, the states were facing financial issues. The states have to make payments towards salaries and pension on the first date, which becomes very difficult.
The Chief Minister further requested the Finance Minister that financial proposals of seven drinking water projects costing Rs 5473 crore should be approved at the earliest. He asked for approval for the proposal for external financial aid for the Phase 3 of Rajiv Gandhi Lift Canal Project costing Rs. 1450 crore. This project would provide drinking water to 2014 villages and five towns of Jodhpur, Barmer and Pali districts till the year 2051.
Gehlot told Smt. Sitharaman that Rajasthan had several drinking water projects proposed with the help of Japanese aid agency JICA. These proposals are pending with Union Ministries of Drinking Water & Sanitation and Urban Development. He said that several villages of Jhunjhunu and Barmer districts would be benefited from these projects worth Rs. 2918 crores.
He said that another scheme worth Rs 1104 crore for Phase 2 of Bisalpur project to provide drinking water to Jaipur city was also awaiting the centre’s approval. He sought the Finance Minister’s support for these projects.
The CM asked the Union Minister to support the state’s loan waiver scheme to help farmers of Rajasthan recover from the indebtedness.
He informed that 24 lakh farmers affiliated to cooperative banks had been given the benefit of loan waiver in Rajasthan and the state had to bear a burden of Rs 15,679 crore.
The State further planned to waive off crops loans from the nationalized banks, scheduled commercial banks and rural regional banks upto Rs. 2 lakh per farmer, he added. As these financial institutions are under the control of Minister of Finance, the Centre should help the state in having a one-time settlement with the banks for loan-waiver, he demanded.
Gehlot suggested that to ensure no dearth of funds for various development projects, the states should be allowed to take loans upto 4% instead of 3% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). He said that the Centre should make the procedure for the states to take loans from the open markets a stable one.
He told that for year 2019-20, the Centre had given approval for taking loans from open market amounting Rs. 7,495 crore only on Net Borrowing Ceiling, while the state had a limit to take loans worth Rs. 36,161 crore. He said that in view of magnitude of Rajasthan’s development needs this approved amount of loan is very little. The delay on part of the Centre to give approval for taking loans was hampering the ongoing development projects, he added.
On this occasion, Chief Secretary of Rajasthan Shri D.B.Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary Finance Shri Niranjan Arya, Principal Secretary Planning Shri Abhay Kumar and Joint Secretary Shri Rajan Vishal were also present in the meeting.