Chhattisgarh CM writes to PM, requests for Rs 30,000 crore aid

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi again to provide a financial assistance of Rs 30,000 crore to the state to help it restore its economy.

The chief minister wrote to the prime minister, reiterating that a financial aid of Rs 10,000 crore should be given immediately from this package to get the state's economy back on track.

He said if this economic package is not approved, the normal functioning of the state will not be possible due to the economic crisis, an official statement said.

"The immediate package will help the state in taking decision on financial assistance to be given to industries, businesses, workers, farmers and to undertake other activities," Baghel said.

Baghel said an unprecedented crisis has arisen due to Covid-19 in the country and every effort is being made by the Central and state governments to deal with it in complete solidarity.

Baghel said the state has completed 48 days of complete lockdown till May 8. Still, with the continuous increase in the number of new cases of the Covid-19 virus, it seems that the chances of complete control or elimination of this epidemic in the near future are extremely low, he added.

Baghel said so far the prevalence of corona virus in Chhattisgarh is comparatively better than other states.

The entire system to deal with the disaster in the state is being strengthened, he said.

"Due to the long period of lockdown, all kinds of economic activities in the state have been badly affected, causing livelihood crisis for lakhs of families. In view of the present situation of coronavirus infection, limited economic activities have been started by dividing the districts into red, orange and green zones by the Government of India," the CM said.

The chief minister said the practical difficulty in determining the different zones from the level of the Government of India is that there is a full possibility of the occurrence of new infection cases in the green zone immediately after the determination of zones.

If any economic activity is stopped once after a long wait, then it will increase dissatisfaction and there will be a situation of uncertainty, the chief minister told the prime minister in his letter.

Presently, there is also uncertainty as to what will be the situation regarding the lockdown after May 17, he said.

In order to eliminate all these uncertainties, it is needed that we take all possible precautions and start economic activities gradually. In such a situation, it would be appropriate that full powers should be delegated to states for carrying out various economic activities within it, he said.

"If the state is not approved a package of Rs 30,000 crore in the next 3 months, the normal working of the state will not be possible due to the economic crisis," Baghel said in his letter to the PM.