Maharashtra govt, NITI Aayog officials discuss state related issues

NITI Aayog officials held a meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday at 'Sahyadri' guest house in south Mumbai to discuss issues related to the state. The issues discussed included the planned car shed construction for Metro-3 at Kanjurmarg in Mumbai. As per an official statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), Dr Rajiv Kumar, NITI Aayog vice-chairman, Amitabh Kant, NITI Aayog CEO, and its member Ramesh Chand discussed with Thackeray. As many as 41 issues were addressed in the meeting, comprising the metro car shed construction at Kanjurmarg, the transfer of land from the railways for the Dharavi redevelopment plan, GST rebate and development of lands associated with defence organisations in the state, it said. Additionally, NITI Aayog officials ensured the chief minister a positive approach over the Kanjurmarg car shed matter. In October 2020, Uddhav Thackeray had declared the scrapping of the Aarey Metro car shed and said that the project would be shifted to government land in Kanjurmarg. The Centre and the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government were locked in a tussle over possession of the land allocated by the state for building the car depot at Kanjurmarg. The Union government had filed a petition in the high court, questioning the October 1, 2020 order passed by the collector giving the land for the car shed construction and said that the land belongs to its salt department. During the meeting, the NITI Aayog officials said that the metro car shed and other matters would be considered on an urgent basis, the statement said, adding that they appreciated the state government for its electric vehicle policy. While Dr Kumar commended the state for its efforts in regulating the spread of Covid-19, Thackeray called for the requirement to have the Union government's continued support in terms of different medical equipment, masks and medicines because of the fear of the third wave emerged largely. The chief minister ensured the NITI Aayog officials of maintaining better coordination. Maharashtra had recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases during the first and the second wave of Covid-19, and over 1.38 lakh people have died in the state because of it so far. According to the statement, the state government also asked that the GST dues, which are already Rs 30,000 crore, be cleared as the figure would soon touch Rs 50,000 crore. During the meeting, Thackeray said that the increased cess has assisted the Union government to earn more, but it did not help the state. Image Source