While Telangana chief minister K ChandrasekharRao suggested a permanent secretariat for the Team India, his AP counterpart N ChandrababuNaidu emphasized the need to formulate a 'Vision 2050' with specific targets to achieve.
The two CMs, who are at loggerheads over post-bifurcation issues, kept their differences at bay for the day. Seen sitting together during the meeting, KCR and Naidu even had a friendly chat at the lunch hosted by Modi. Sources close to them said local issues did not figure prominently during the limited one-on-one meeting with Modi after the main proceedings got over.
"KCR asked the PM to expedite the process of allocating all-India services (AIS) officers among the successor states and the bifurcation of the AP High Court," said S Venugoplachari, Telangana government's representative in Delhi. "He sought permission to purchase additional power for Telangana and central funds for the proposed schemes of road development, water grid and revitalization of water bodies."
On the other hand, Naidu insisted on the need for a direct flow of funds from the Centre to the states. He suggested linking the pension scheme to Aadhaar and the handover of sand reaches to DWCRA (development of women and children in rural areas) groups to ensure judicious mining.
"However, issues such as seeking special status for Andhra Pradesh did not come up during the one-on-one meeting with the PM as the meeting was not on local issues," said Kambampati Rammohan Rao, AP government representative in Delhi. Naidu did apprise Modi about his recent visits to Singapore and Japan, and the plans for the proposed new capital.
"For effective interaction and to promote a sense of involvement, the council of chief ministers under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister may participate as members of 'Team India' to deliberate and decide on the entire general and important policy issues concerning the entire country," said KCR, as he presented his views at the chief ministers' meeting. "However, for issues specific to a region or a few states, such as the Ganga Action Plan or Left-wing extremism, chief ministers of states concerned may be grouped into sub-groups to deliberate on issues specific to them."
Instead of the present plan cycle of five years, KCR suggested a long-term plan cycle, urging that all transfers from the Centre be based on the recommendations of the Finance Commission. Suggesting a permanent secretariat for Team India, KCR also asked the Centre to establish a think-tank. "A permanent secretariat, with representation from each state, may be put in place to assist 'Team India' in its deliberations," he said. "The secretariat may seek policy briefs and expert advice from the proposed think-tank or even co-opt other experts. All the papers relating to policy issues should be circulated by the secretariat well in advance to facilitate an informed discussion."
Supporting the council of chief ministers as an alternative to the Planning Commission, Naidu said there must be a mechanism to ensure the direct flow of central funds to the states.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.
from Top Stories - Google News http://ift.tt/1uaugnl
via IFTTT
0 comments:
Post a Comment