Jharkhand CM writes to PM Modi over 'hurdles' in payment of GST compensation by Centre to States
Sep 04, 2020
Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], September 4 : Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the hurdles in payment of GST compensation by the Central Government to the States.
"Today, I've written to the PM to convey our deep concerns with regard to hurdles in the payment of GST compensation by Central Government to the States and have requested the PM to intervene and advise Finance Ministry to uphold the spirit of Cooperative Federalism in practice," Jharkhand CM.
In his letter he stated, I am writing this after being informed that the Government of India has expressed its inability to give us compensation for the loss of GST revenue suffered by Jharkhand in the financial year 2020-21.
"We have so far registered a loss of nearly Rs 2,500 crore in the current fiscal; but no compensation has been released by GOI. In the GST Council meeting held recently, Union Finance Minister, instead of giving some firm commitment, unbelievably decided to thrust unilateral and arbitrary options which require states to borrow crores of rupees," he added.
Jharkhand, being a manufacturing/heavy industries based state with less consumption, was bound to suffer losses in GST regime. Even then Jharkhand State Assembly consented to its implementation, Soren stated.
"Not only this, but Jharkhand also contributes to compensation fund a cess of nearly Rs 5,000 crore from the mineral sector alone. What we get in return is just a paltry sum of nearly Rs 150 crore as monthly compensation. And now we are being asked to borrow at a time when the state is hard-pressed to fulfil salaries of Government servants," Soren wrote in the letter.
Poor people of this backward State would like to know what wrong they committed to earn this additional burden of borrowings. The obvious question that is being asked by all is why GOI could not borrow and compensate States to fulfil is constitutional commitments, he added.
"May I, therefore, request your kind intervention in this matter and urge you to direct the concerned ministry to release our compensation dues at the earliest. This will not only melt away all our apprehensions but also reinforce our trust in the spirit of cooperative federalism," Soren stated.
