Goa govt demands arrears from Centre
Panaji: The Goa government has urged the Centre to give the state its share of pending dues since 2011, which amounts to around Rs 300 crore. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar in a meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Delhi on Monday discussed the issue, a senior government official said on Tuesday. “The state did not raise any fresh demands. What we want is whatever dues which are pending with the central government should be given to us,” the official said. He said the state is expecting around Rs 300 crore from the Centre for reduction of Central Sales Tax (CST) for the last three years. He said the Centre had agreed to compensate the states for CST loss and did the same from 2007-08 and 2009-10. It also compensated for 2010-11 but after deducting the national gain calculated on the basis of hike in VAT rate from four to five per cent, but stopped this in 2011-12. Parrikar during the meet with Jaitley also raised Goa’s concerns of not being able to take benefits of the central government sponsored schemes due to ‘fair parameters in the state.’ “Goa is better on most of the parameters which makes it ineligible to enjoy the benefits of several central government schemes,” he said. The Chief Minister requested the Union Finance ministry to reconsider certain parameters while granting the benefits to states like Goa. (PTI)
P K Mishra appointed Additional Principal Secretary to Modi
New Delhi: Former Agriculture Secretary P K Mishra has been appointed Additional Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The appointment of Mishra, a 1972-batch retired IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, will be co-terminus with the term of the Prime Minister or till further orders, according to an official release issued by the Ministry of Personnel on Tuesday. 65-year-old Mishra had served between 2001 and 2004 as Principal Secretary to Modi when he was Gujarat Chief Minister. He was Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture between December 1, 2006 and August 31, 2008. He was appointed Chairman of Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission after his retirement in 2008 for a five- year term. Mishra, considered close to Modi, has held various key positions at the Centre and in the Gujarat government. This is the second appointment in the Prime Minister’s Office. Former TRAI Chairman Nripendra Misra, 69, was on May 28 appointed Principal Secretary to Modi. He is a 1967-batch retired IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. Misra, who has served in various capacities in the government, retired as the Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in 2009. (PTI)
Delhi’s power supply to normalise in two weeks: Minister
New Delhi: Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal Tuesday assured that the power situation in the national capital, which is facing acute electricity crisis during the sweltering summer, will be solved within two weeks. The announcement follows an emergency meeting between Goyal, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and officials to discuss the steps to be taken to tackle the power crisis. Addressing media persons after the meeting, Goyal said: “It normally takes three months to restore lines after the damage we saw. We’ll work 24×7 and get them up in two weeks.” But, he added, the internal deadline for officials is 10 days. The city’s power supply was affected following a severe storm last month which caused many lines of the Northern Grid to trip. Goyal said the storm and the soaring summer temperatures had an effect on power distribution. “Emergency restoration is underway,” he added. With no respite from the heat, power outages in parts of the city last for several hours and also affect water supply in many localities, adding to the woes of Delhiites. Goyal said they are trying to find a long-term solution so that these problems do not crop up in the city next summer. (IANS)
