More Central assistance to deal with farm sector distress and natural calamities, and compensation against loss of revenue on account of GST implementation beyond the five-year period were among the key demands raised by the states during the fifth Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog here on Saturday.
At the meeting, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy made a strong pitch to grant special category status to the debt-ridden state and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be “gracious” in fulfilling the promise made in Parliament and also in the BJP’s 2014 poll manifesto.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath urged the Niti Aayog to rework the eligibility criteria for drought compensation in affected areas and reduce the crop damage limit from 33% to 20%.
Adityanath said that the CRPF companies deployed in Naxal-hit Chandauli and Sonbhadra districts of the state should not be withdrawn and the Union Home Ministry should take back its order as the central forces were required to keep a check on Naxal activities. He also suggested that the loan facility under the Kisan Credit Card Scheme should be based on the crop, instead of land area.