CM puts forth demand before 14th Finance Commission, meets Reddy
Ranchi: Jharkhand government has demanded a special package of Rs 1.42 lakh crore from the 14th Finance Commission for the development of basic infrastructure in the state.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren said the demand was put forth by him before the team of the Finance Commissioner led by YV Reddy, the chairman of the Commission, during the meeting held today in the state Capital.
�The financial aid or special package will be utilized in the sectors like health, education, power, Information Technology, agriculture and water resources among many other sectors. The money will be spent on developing the basic infrastructure in each of these sectors in a bid to give shape to the development model of Jharkhand,� said the CM.
A presentation was made by the various departments of the state government before the Finance Commission team which arrived here yesterday. The presentation included reports on the status of different sectors in the state and the facts which seek to justify the demand for a special package for the state.
The Commission members made some suggestions to amend certain proposals of different departments after seeing the presentation.
Addressing the meeting, Soren said the Finance Commission should see to it that Jharkhand had long been exploited and was hence a backward state. Special attention and package is required to put the state on the road to development, he said. He said the Commission had a duty to ensure that no injustice is done to the state and its people.
The CM further said that many Central government projects took several months and even years to come to completion due to certain conditions or criteria which cannot be easily fulfilled. In such situations, Jharkhand is often deprived of Central aid, he said.
The meeting was also attended by the state Finance Minister Rajendra Prasad Singh, Chief Secretary of Jharkhand Ram Sevak Sharma and the heads of various departments of the state government. The state government has included health, education, welfare and water resources as its areas of priority. It has demanded a maximum amount of Rs 23,169 crore for education and Rs 19275 for health.
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