new delhi:Today the third meeting of the Governing Council of the Commission is being held in Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is chaired by this day long meeting in Rashtrapati Bhawan. In the meeting, besides Chief Ministers of all the States, members of the Policy Commission and specially invited experts are included. However, Delhi’s CM Arvind Kejriwal and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have decided not to join the meeting.
Emphasis on cooperation
Addressing the meeting, the Prime Minister said that the creation of a new India is possible only with the cooperation of all the states and their chief ministers. He clarified that the Chief Ministers do not have to bolster the rounds of the policy commission to get the projects approved. According to the PM, the commission is no longer dependent on government inputs and it has included professionals and experts. The PM said that the sub-groups of the Chief Ministers have given valuable suggestions on many government schemes. He claimed that this is the first time that Chief Ministers have been asked to contribute to central schemes and despite their lack of funds, their recommendations have been accepted.
Meeting agenda
The Vision Document of the Central Government is being discussed during the meeting. The document has been prepared in the next 15 years to increase the pace of economic growth of the country. Policy Commission Deputy Chairman Arvind Pagaria has given a presentation on the important aspects of roadmap suggested in the Vision Document. Apart from this, the progress made in the direction of implementation of GST from July 1 is being reviewed. The statement issued by the government said that the action taken on decisions taken during the last two meetings in the meeting will also be discussed.
What happened in the previous meetings?
The Council’s first meeting was held on February 8, 2015. In this meeting, Prime Minister Modi cleared the policy commission agenda. It focused on promoting cooperative federalism, ie Co-operative Federalism, with the monitoring of important government schemes. It was decided in the meeting that the Policy Commission would act as a think tank of the government. Prime Minister Modi had said that the commission will work hard between the center and the states. Apart from this, Chief Ministers Sub-Group and two Task Force were created for poverty alleviation and development of the agriculture sector. The work of these sub-groups and task force was reviewed in the second meeting on July 15, 2015. The Policy Commission was also asked to prepare documents for faster economic development by the year 2030.
Modi-Mahbuba meeting to be held
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is also joining the meeting. In Delhi, he will also meet Prime Minister Modi and other senior ministers of the Central Government. The worrisome situation in Kashmir and Mufti of Mufti’s differences in the PDP-BJP alliance is considered to be very important. It is understood that in meeting with the Prime Minister, Mehbooba will make the Prime Minister aware about the situation in Kashmir and suggest steps to improve the situation. In the MLC election in the state PDP candidate lost by a vote from Jammu. After this there is speculation that the central government can impose President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir. According to reports, the final decision can be taken after Amit Shah’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir at the end of this month.