Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday put forth various issues related to his state at the 30th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council and apprised the visiting delegates about the schemes and initiatives of the state government.
Gehlot demanded creation of an additional post of full-time member for the state in Bhakra Beas Management Board. He also demanded change in the funding pattern of Jal Jeevan Mission, national project status for Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project and strict action against the Multistate Credit Co-operative Societies looting people’s hard-earned money.
Along with this, he informed the delegates about the schemes and initiatives including ensuring speedy justice, Chief Minister Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme, Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme and I M Shakti Udan Yojana.
The Chief Minister said that keeping future circumstances in mind, an additional post of full time member on Bhakra Beas Management Board would be in the larger interest of Rajasthan. Gehlot spoke about the effective implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for social security schemes.
Gehlot said that Rajasthan has expedited its efforts towards prevention of cyber crimes. The Chief Minister said that the State Government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure speedy justice to the victims under the POCSO Act.
There were 56 POCSO courts operating in the state even before the fast-track special court scheme. For disposal of POCSO cases, 60 special courts have been made functional. At the same time, reception rooms have been set up in police stations for crime control and for providing justice to the complainant.
Making FIRs mandatory has increased the number of FIRs, but the number of cases registered through courts under 156(3) have halved.
The Chief Minister said that due to the rugged geographical terrain in Rajasthan, the amount of time taken to reach every household under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is much higher. He urged the Centre to extend the deadline for completion of the mission from March 31, 2024 to March 31, 2026. Also, he demanded to change the funding pattern to 90:10 for the implementation of the scheme.
Gehlot asked the Central government to extend the GST compensation period by five years from June 2022 to June 2027. Along with this, he demanded to release the GST compensation arrears of about Rs 5,000 crore to Rajasthan, which have been pending from 2017-18 to May 2022.
The Rajasthan Chief Minister further said that the Central government must declare the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) as a national project. ERCP is an ambitious project worth Rs 37,247 crore, which will benefit 13 districts of the state. He said that the Prime Minister had also promised to take a positive stand on the project on various occasions.
Gehlot paid tributes to the former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe and the pilgrims who lost their lives in the cloudburst at Amarnath.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah presided over the meeting.
On this occasion, Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Jai Ram Thakur, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Vinay Kumar Saxena, Administrator of Chandigarh Banwari Lal Purohit, Lt. Governor of Ladakh Radhakrishna Thakur and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and ministers of various states and officials were present.
