Sonowal calls on Jaitley, seeks more NRC funds, pending oil royalty

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, Feb 20: Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal called on Union Fince Minister Arun Jaitley at the latter’s office chamber in New Delhi on Monday and discussed a gamut of issues including early sanction of additiol fund for NRC update, implementation of GST law, expeditious release of pending oil royalty and clearance of Exterlly Aided Projects (EAP) by the Fince Ministry.

Sonowal informed Jaitley that the NRC update process has reached an extremely advanced stage with 92 per cent of documents already verified. He requested the Fince Minister to accord early sanction of revised cost estimates of Rs 905.72 crore for NRC update in the State.

Appreciating the Central government’s initiative for implementation of a uniform tax regime in the country, Sonowal further said Assam was the first State in the country to ratify the GST Constitutiol Amendment Bill. He also assured Jaitley that the Assam government will ect the State GST law the moment the draft law is made available by the GST Council.

Sonowal also thanked Jaitley for payment of Rs 1,449 crore differential royalty on crude oil for the period February 2014 to June 2016 by the Central government, and urged for early settlement of pending royalty issues so that a long-standing demand of the State is addressed.

The Assam Chief Minister further apprised Jaitley about proposed Exterlly Aided Projects (EAP) for agri-business, rural transformation, flood and riverbank erosion risk magement etc., which await negotiation and commissioning, calling for his urgent intervention to clear the same by the Fince Ministry.

Sonowal also discussed various aspects of public distribution system in the State with Central Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan at New Delhi.

The Chief Minister discussed issues regarding subsidy on sugar through PDS shops, supply of rice at subsidised rate in tea gardens, wheat allotment at subsidised rate and other related issues.