Maha govt demands Rs 14,000 cr compensation over GST bill

The Maharashtra government has demanded compensation of Rs 14,000 crore over the possible loss of revenue after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill.
Speaking at the Inter-State Council meeting held here, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state was expected to lose revenue of over Rs 14,000 crore if the GST bill was passed and the state should be compensated over a period of five years.
He also demanded levying additional one per cent more GST in states with a flourishing manufacturing sector to compensate for the loss of revenue.
The Chief Minister stated that in order to combat the menace of ISIS and Naxals, the state has taken several "successful" steps, including starting over 318 inter-state operations with the Chhattisgarh and Telangana governments.

He said his government was not in favour of Justice M M Punchhi Committee recommendations of uniform number of representation of states in the Rajya Sabha and back the existing system.
The Punchhi Commission was formed to look into contemporary issues of Centre-State relations keeping in view the changes that have been taken place in the polity and economy of the country.

Fadnavis said by the end of 2018, over 28,000 Panchayats in the state will be connected with wi-fi services. He said since May 1, Gram Panchayats, health centres and schools of five hamlets in Nagpur district have been provided with internet connection with a speed of 10 mbps.

By 2016-2017, 776 Gram Panchayats will be provided with similar service, he said.
The Chief Minister also claimed to have covered 100 per cent registration of Aadhar cards while 73 per cent of the total population has opened 'Jan Dhan' bank accounts.
Highlighting the digitisation of state services, Fadnavis noted that since January this year, over 156 public services have found their presence online through "aaple sarkar" portal.