Rajya Sabha BJD Member Narendra Swain sought to know from Union Minister of State Shiva Prasad Shukla in the Finance Ministry, whether the Centre has considered reducing the GST on Kendu leaves form 18 per cent to 5 per cent as Kendu is the financial lifeline of the tribal people of Odisha and a large section of the people of the State depend on it for their livelihood.
This is to be mentioned here that CM Naveen Patnaik in a letter on 29.11.2018 had requested the Union Finance Ministry for reduction of GST from 18 per cent to 5 per cent to restore the social and financial security of the tribals of the State.
In his reply, Minister Shukla however denied having considered on the reduction at the recent GST Council meet.
Swain further inquired to know from the Union Minister of Civil Aviation if the Ministry has taken up the necessary steps for introduction of direct flight services between Bhubaneswar and Surat as per the proposal of the CM of Odisha. Minister Jayant Sinha replied that as per winter scheduled 2018, no scheduled direct flights are available between Bhubaneswar and Surat.
In his further query, Swain demanded to know from Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment whether any decision has been taken by Centre on the request of CM Patnaik to restore the original funding pattern of 90:10 share of Centre and State for smooth implementation of Post-Matric Scholarship programme for SC and ST students of Odisha.
Replying, the Minister said that for the past many decades it is operating based on the concept of “Committed Liability “of the State Government /UT administration rather than on a fixed sharing ratio between the Centre and the State/UT. Thus the Minister drew a blank to earlier request of CM Patnaik.
The BJD leader further demanded to know from the Minister of Railways, whether any action has been taken to establish a concrete sleeper plant at Kantabanji and a railway apprentice training centre in the backward KBK region to promote skill development and employability of the workforce, which in turn would contribute to the National Skill Development Mission. The Minister replied that such request of the Odisha Government was examined and was not found justified.
Speaking to The Pioneer, the octogenarian Swain told with a heavy heart that the Centre has taken a step-motherly attitude and put a wet blanket on the hopes and aspirations of the people of the State. He further rued that the Union Railway Ministry has said “no” to CM Patnaik’s request for introduction of two new daily trains from Brahmapur to Surat.