Jaipur, 09 July. Chief Minister Mr Ashok Gehlot on Saturday put forth various issues related to Rajasthan at the
30th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council and apprised the visiting
delegates about the schemes and initiatives of the state government.
Mr 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. Shri Gehlot spoke about the effective implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for social security schemes. Direct benefits of about Rs 56,000 crore (cumulatively) have been transferred through Janadhaar portal in the state till July 1, 2022, and direct cash benefits of about Rs 6,000 crore have been transferred in five months of 2022.
The Chief Minister said that banking facilities must be provided through bank branches or post offices in 2908 villages deprived of banks. He said that Rajasthan has started the work of connecting all villages up to 500 population with roads from the state fund on the basis of 2011 census, 535 villages have been connected with roads. He said that the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana should be implemented as per the 2011 census instead of 2001. He 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.
The Chief Minister put forth the State's stand on providing benefits of food security to maximum people. He said that by re-fixing the ceiling on the basis of the estimated population of the year 2021, the distribution limit of beneficiaries for the state will increase from 4.46 crores to 5.24 crores
Mr 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.
On the need to address water-related issues in the state, Mr Gehlot 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.
The Chief Minister said that the Multistate Credit Co-operative Societies have fraudulently siphoned off the hard-earned money of lakhs of people of the state. People must be provided relief by taking strict action against them. He demanded to make the provisions of 'Banning Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act 2019' more stringent in the interest of investors. He said that the State Governments should be given powers under the Act to exercise more control over these societies. He said that like Rajasthan, Centre should also prohibit the registration of multistate cooperative societies.
Mr Gehlot informed about the public welfare schemes and initiatives of the state government in the meeting. He said that the state government was providing relief to the people of the state by extending free medical facilities. Under the Chief Minister Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojana, the government has given cashless treatment facility up to Rs 10 lakh and accident insurance up to Rs 5 lakh. Serious medical diseases like heart, liver, kidney transplant are also being provided free of cost to the people of the state.
The Chief Minister said that the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) has been implemented by the State Government from a humanitarian point of view. With this, an effort has been made to provide social security to the state employees after retirement. Like Rajasthan, the central and other state governments must consider implementing the scheme.
The Chief Minister said that on the
lines of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, a novel initiative
has been taken by the state government by implementing 'Indira Gandhi Urban
Employment Guarantee Scheme' in the state. The central government and other
states must also initiate such scheme, so that urban people would also get
employment. He said that 1183 Mahatma Gandhi Government English Medium Schools
have been opened in the state. With the concept of 'No one must sleep hungry',
permanent canteens under Indira Rasoi Yojana are being operated in 213 urban
bodies. At the same time, free sanitary napkins are being provided to girls and
women under the I M Shakti Udaan scheme.
Mr Gehlot paid tributes to the
former Prime Minister of Japan, Mr Shinzo Abe and the pilgrims who lost their
lives in the cloudburst at Amarnath. Union Home Minister Mr Amit Shah
presided over the meeting. On this occasion, Chief Minister of Haryana Mr Manohar
Lal Khattar, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Mr Jai Ram Thakur, Lieutenant
Governor of Delhi Mr Vinay Kumar Saxena, Administrator of Chandigarh Mr Banwari
Lal Purohit, Lt. Governor of Ladakh Mr Radhakrishna Thakur and Delhi Deputy
Chief Minister Mr Manish Sisodia and ministers of various states and officials
were present.
