Jharkhand CM to pitch for special package in view of drought-like situation at NITI Aayog meeting

Hemant in Delhi to attend NITI Aayog meeting 

Ranchi, August 6: Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren left for Delhi on Saturday.

Chief minister would be attending seventh governing council meeting of NITI Aayog to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday and is expected to demand special package for Jharkhand in view of the drought-like situation due to deficit monsoon in almost all districts of the state.

There are also talks of chief minister meeting senior Congress leaders especially in the wake of three party MLAs arrested with cash in Kolkata with allegation of conspiring along with BJP to topple the Jharkhand government.

Meanwhile, sources in the chief minister’s office said that agenda of the seventh governing council meeting of the NITI Aayog includes crop diversification, achieving self-sufficiency in oilseeds, pulses and agri-communities, implementation of the National Education Policy and urban governance.

This will be the first physical meeting of the Council after July 2019 and its members include all the Chief Ministers.

“In the drive towards building a steady, sustainable and inclusive India, the seventh governing council meeting of the NITI Aayog will be held on August 7 and this will pave the way for synergies towards a new era of collaboration and cooperation between Centre and States/Union Territories,” it said in a statement.

To be held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan Cultural Centre, the agenda of the meeting includes crop diversification, achieving self-sufficiency in oilseeds, pulses and agri-communities, implementation of the National Education Policy and urban governance.

“The meeting is particularly important as the country enters “ Amrit Kaal”, a phrase first used by  Prime Minister Modi to describe the next 25 years in the run-up to the centenary of India’s independence, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and in light of the country hosting the G20 presidency and summit next year,” the PMO said.

“The meeting would also lay emphasis on the importance of the presidency for India for the federal system and the role that States can play in highlighting their progress at the G-20 platform,” it said.

It noted that a national conference of Chief Secretaries was held in Dharamshala in June in preparation for the Council’s meeting, which will endeavour to finalise a roadmap and an outcome-oriented action plan on the issues on the agenda.

The NITI Aayog’s governing council is the premier body tasked with evolving a shared vision of national priorities and strategies with the involvement of the States and Union Territories. It presents a platform to discuss inter-sectoral, inter-departmental and federal issues, the PMO noted