Gadkari, civic officials to meet CM for hike in GST compensation

NAGPUR: Civic body officials and office-bearers, along with city MP and Union minister Nitin Gadkari, are set to meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday to press him for increase in compensation of Good and Services Tax (GST) to Rs1,000 crore per annum.

The state's urban development department (UDD), which falls under Fadnavis, had issued a notification on July 4 releasing advance GST compensation to 26 municipal corporations which included the NMC.

The cash-strapped NMC got Rs42.44 crore for July, which translates to Rs509.28 crore per annum. The meeting will take place at 6pm at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai. The Nag River rejuvenation project will also be discussed. Mayor Nanda Jichkar, ruling party leader Sandip Joshi, former mayor Pravin Datke, municipal commissioner Ashwin Mudgal and, other office bearers and officials will also be present.

 

  

The NMC was expecting GST compensation to be Rs1,063.62 crore per annum. Jichkar, Joshi, Datke and others met Fadnavis on July 9 and sought a hike. But NMC sources told TOI that he gave no assurances but, at the same time, promised to end the financial crisis in the civic body.

"We want GST compensation on the lines of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is based on the octroi revenue," said the sources.

The officials then approached Gadkari who directed the NMC office bearers to prepare the material for a discussion on GST compensation with the CM "Gadkari closely monitors each and every happening at the NMC. He is always ready to take up issues of the NMC with the central and state governments," said Joshi.

Confusions prevailing over the Nag River rejuvenation project are likely to come to an end in the meeting. Gadkari had got approval to the pollution abatement of Rs1,252.33 crore from the centre. He was set to get approval for the river front development plan of Rs1,373.60 crore too. But, the state gave its nod to only the pollution abatement.

Source::: The Times of India, dated 26/07/2017