At the 7th Niti Aayog meeting in Delhi, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday demanded from the Central Government that it should increase the financial assistance to the state in various centrally sponsored schemes including declaring the East Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) as a national project.
Speaking at the Niti Aayog meet Chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gehlot strongly supported the state on the issues related to Rajasthan reminding that ERCP was an ambitious project worth Rs 37,000 crore, which will provide irrigation facility to about 2 lakh hectare area in 13 districts of Eastern part of the state predominantly an oil seed production belt, according to an official statement here.
Along with this, the problem of drinking water in these districts will also be solved by being declared a national project, CM said and recalled that Prime Minister had earlier promised to adopt a positive attitude regarding this project. He said that this project would also help in the successful implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission.
CM has demanded from the Center to extend the period of GST compensation by 5 years to June, 2027 and to release the arrears of GST compensation amount of about Rs 3,780 crore to Rajasthan in one lump sum from 2017-18.
In the meeting, CM drew the attention of the Prime Minister towards his goal of doubling the income of farmers and said that the monthly income of farmer families in the year 2018-19 was estimated at about Rs 10,218 by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO). Now keeping in mind the rate of inflation, this income should be around Rs 21,600 per month, he said.
He said that the government will have to take very concrete steps to achieve the goal of doubling farmers’ income. In order to increase the income of the farmers, Gehlot has demanded a substantial increase in the budget of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA scheme, rural development and agriculture and to increase the amount given to the farming families under ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana’ to Rs.2000 per month.