Committed to statutory provisions on special status: Centre

In view of the demand of some states for special status category on economic grounds, the Centre said on Sunday that it is committed in "letter and spirit" to adhere to the statutory provisions in place at the time of the bifurcation of states.

Briefing reporters here following the fourth meeting of the Governing Council of the NITI Aayog, its Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi who addressed the Chief Ministers clarified the Central government's position on the claims of some states for special status on the ground of their average per capita income being below the national average.

"Some states did raise the issue of their per capita income being below the national average and so have the right to special status.

"The discussions were more focused on on the statutory provisions that were in place at the time of the bifurcation of states and the Prime Minister said that the central government is committed in letter and spirit to adhere to those provisions," he said.

On the issue of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops raised in Budget 2018-19 towards doubling farmers' incomes, the Vice Chairman described the MSP issue as "work-in progress".

"The details are being worked out and a bouquet of options will be offered to the states for them to meet the Prime Minister's promise of an increase of 1.5 times in the MSP," he said.

Kumar said that the Prime Minister, who is also the Chairperson of the Niti Aayog - the think-tank that replaced the erstwhile Planning Commission - also directed that a committee be formed to look into farmers' issues.

It was also suggested at the discussions that states should also set up their own GDP targets which all add up to compose the national gross domestic product (GDP), Kumar added.

--IANS

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