Capt urges Centre to release ₹2,088 cr GST compensation

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday sought urgent intervention of the Union finance minister for the immediate release of GST compensation arrears of ₹2088 crore, specific only to Punjab, in the wake of crisis caused by Covid-19 outbreak.

In a letter to the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, that followed a telephonic conversation, the CM asked her to take urgent steps to mitigate the crisis caused by the outbreak of Covid-19 global pandemic. The Union finance minister had earlier called up the CM, who subsequently sent her a detailed letter listing out certain important proposals to help out the state in this critical time, according to an official spokesperson.

The CM conveyed to Sitharaman that for opening the banks, he had asked the state finance department to issue necessary guidelines to facilitate the common man in meeting his banking requirements.

In his letter, Amarinder proposed that the Centre should ask the RBI to raise the ways and means advances for all states to tide over the shortfall in receipts. He also suggested that the Government of India may raise the borrowing limit of the states under the FRBM Act from 3% to 4%. In addition to deferment of instalments of Industrial loans, the CM has asked that commercial banks should defer loan instalments for agriculture/

crop loans, which the Punjab government had already done for the state cooperative banks.

Referring to the special insurance already announced by the Union finance minister for health workers, the CM asked for a one-time special insurance on similar lines also for sanitary workers and police personnel.