4th NITI Aayog Governing Council Meeting

Chief Minister Smt. Vasundhara Raje has stated that in view of the severe problem of availability of safe drinking water in Rajasthan, the union government should sympathetically consider for giving special additional budgetary support to Rajasthan. She further demanded that the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP), proposed to make drinking and irrigation water available in 13 districts of the state, be granted the status of a national project.

Smt. Raje was addressing the 4th NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on Sunday. She said that the Central Water Commission has already given in-principle approval to the feasibility report of this project. With a national project status, implementation of the ERCP would speed up, she said.

The Chief Minister said that along with its scarcity, the quality of available water was a big issue for Rajasthan. Of all fluoride-affected habitations in the country, 53% are in Rajasthan. Thus, in view of the financial constraints of the state, she demanded that the centre should share the cost of surface drinking water projects in fluoride-affect areas on 50-50% basis.

Smt. Raje said that land-holding limit of 2 hectares for agriculture input subsidy under the SDRF norms should be relaxed for Rajasthan because in several districts of the state crop production was low, even if the land holdings were big. Also, the large tracks of agriculture lands were infertile. Therefore, she demanded that considering these special geographical conditions, the SDRF norms should be suitably amended to raise the limit of land-holding to 5 hectares for agriculture input subsidy.

The CM further stated that 8 to 10 districts in Rajasthan were perpetually facing drought conditions. For such a situation, a high-powered committee of the Union Government decided the amount of agriculture input subsidy on the basis of the number of farmers as per the Agriculture Census 2010. This number being less than the actual number of farmers as on date, the relief under this scheme was not adequate. Thus, the sanction of amount should be given on the basis of actual number of farmers and the affected areas, she said. Also, she asked for support to the cattle in Gaushalas be increased by the centre institutionally.

The Chief Minister further suggested for launch of a nationwide campaign for environment conservation to celebrate 150th Birth Anniversary of the Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi. She said that a Pan India Environmental Program may be initiated akin to the Mukhyamantri Jal Swavalamban Abhiyan (MJSA). She said that the efforts made for promotion of Khadi in Rajasthan had suggested that Khadi could be established as a separate brand in the world of fashion.

To address the issues in implementation of the GST regime, Smt. Raje proposed to the gathering of the Union Ministers and the Chief Ministers of other states to form a sub-group of states in the GST Council. She also emphasized on removal of certain difficulties being faced by the traders in getting the GST refunds.

The Chief Minister thanked NITI Aayog for highlighting the water conservation efforts being practiced in Sanchore region. She said that MJSA had resulted into encouraging outcomes. As per the primary reports, underground water level had increased upto 1.3 meters in several areas of the state. For Rabi season, crop area had increased by 42,000 hectares and green cover by 300 hectares. Also, due to availability of water in several dry wells and dysfunctional hand-pumps dependency on tankers for supply of drinking water had reduced, she added.

Smt. Raje said that despite challenging geographical circumstances in Rajasthan, the state government launched several reforms in agriculture sector. Considering these initiatives, the NITI Aayog ranked the state as number 3 in the Agriculture Reforms category. She then asked for the Union government’s support in setting-up more agriculture market yards, sub-market yards and Regulated Livestock Markets to boost farm incomes. She further told that 30 lakh farmers in Rajasthan were being benefitted by the crop loan waiver scheme. She said that the loan amounts upto Rs. 50,000 each were being waived-off; a permanent institution, named Rajya Krishak Rin Rahat Aayog, was being established to help the farmers in distress; while the amount of accidental insurance package for farmers had been increased from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 10 lakhs.

The CM also welcomed the Prime Minister National Health Security Mission and said that in Rajasthan efforts were being made to integrate Bhamashah Swasthaya Bima Yojana (BSBY) with this project. She said that more than one crore National Food Security Act (NFSA) families had been given insurance cover under the BSBY and as on date over 20 lakh patients had been benefited by this scheme.

Smt. Raje told the gathering that Baran, Dholpur, Karauli, Jaisalmer and Sirohi had been selected as Aspirational Districts and the secretary-level officers were appointed as in-charge of each district. These in-charge officers would regularly monitor various development schemes and ensure maximization of the benefits to eligible families or persons.

Jaipur/ New Delhi, June 17, 2018