New Delhi: Insisting on addressing issues delaying social and physical infrastructure projects, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday exhorted state chief ministers by asking them to shun political differences and promised more funds to states with greater powers for their utilisation.
The Prime Minister was responding to demands made by several chief ministers, who were present at the first meeting of the Niti Aayog’s governing council here, for more funds and flexibility under Centrally-sponsored schemes.
Some non-BJP-ruled states, including Uttar Pradesh, had even asked for greater transparency and end to discretion in allocations. Keen to revive the investment cycle, Mr Modi also asked Chief Ministers to personally monitor factors impacting project execution and suggested that an officer be identified in each state to monitor and resolve pending issues.
The Prime Minister also offered to transfer some of the 66 Centrally-sponsored schemes, for which Rs 3,38,562 crore was provided in 2014-15, to states. A sub-group of chief ministers would be set up under Niti Aayog to look into the rationalisation of these 66 schemes. “We will move away from ‘one size fits all’ schemes and forge a better match between the schemes and the needs of states,” he said.
The Prime Minister also announced setting up of two more such sub-groups — one for skill development and the creation of jobs within states and the other to create an institutional framework to make “Swachh Bharat (Clean India)” a continuous initiative.
Identifying poverty elimination as the biggest challenge, Mr Modi said the new body, which replaced the long-standing, socialist-era Planning Commission, will forge a model of “cooperative and competitive federalism”. He said, “Forgetting all our differences, let us focus on the cycle of investment, growth, job creation and prosperity.”
