Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat once again raised the issue of stalled hydro power projects and its negative impact on revenue and power supply in the state. The CM raised the issue while meeting the Finance secretary, Government of India, Hasmukh Adhia at the CM residence here on Thursday.
The chief minister said that State government is attempting to encourage service sector and maximise revenue generation through the power and tourism sectors. However, due to some restrictions, incomplete hydro power projects worth Rs 40,000 crore have been stalled. This is not only causing revenue loss to the state but also making it purchase additional electricity to meet its requirement. Rawat said that the income-expense estimate by the 14th finance commission has seen a considerable change due to change in actual conditions with the passage of time. The chief minister also stressed on formation of task force at the Finance ministry level for states suffering loss due to Goods and Services Tax (GST). This will prove helpful for smaller states. Rawat also said that soon the detailed project report for the convention centre at Rishikesh will be prepared.
Finance secretary Adhia informed the chief minister that information had been collected from states affected by GST including Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar and Puducherry. He had visited the other states before arriving in Uttarakhand. He further said that attempts are being made to compensate for the losses suffered by states due to GST in the coming time. In this regard, the introduction of a new return policy will help in resolving this problem, he said. Adhia also acknowledged that there is immense scope for investment in the tourism sector in Uttarakhand. The possibilities for investment will increase further as a result of the investor-friendly policies framed for various sectors, opined the Finance secretary. Effective efforts will have to be made to provide facilities to investors at the state level and for this, responsibilities should be accorded to officials. He further opined, that attempt should be made to provide facilities at the convention centre to come up in Rishikesh on the lines of the centre in Geneva for international conventions. Attempts should be made to make this convention centre, the Indian version of the centre in Geneva, he said. Stating that the recently held investors summit was in interests of the state, he said that it takes time for execution of any scheme. Adhia also assured the chief minister that he would talk to the 15th finance commission on the issues related to the interests of Uttarakhand. Various senior officials were also among those present during his meeting with the chief minister.