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Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will not attend the NITI Aayog meeting on May 27. CM Mann has decided not to attend the meeting, alleging discrimination against Punjab for Rural Development Fund.
The Punjab government is attacking the Center over the Rs 3600 crore Rural Development Fund (RDF). After repeated requests by the state government over the past one year, the central government flatly refused to return the RDF money to Punjab as soon as the rabi procurement season began this year. The Center did this because Punjab had rejected the Centre’s offer of a one per cent exemption. Now the Punjab government will send the final letter to the center for the RDF dues. Even after this, if the payment is not made, then the door of the Supreme Court will be knocked on the whole matter.
The amount of RDF for the procurement season of 2021 in Punjab has increased from Rs 1100 crore to Rs 3600 crore, which has been steadily increasing with each passing procurement season. During the last paddy procurement season, the Center had declared the RDF unnecessary. After pressure from the Punjab government, the central government has agreed to pay the balance but has offered to pay at the rate of two per cent instead of three.
The Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution had asked the Punjab government to give a discount of one per cent as its statutory fee in the case of food grains purchased for distribution to the poor and vulnerable sections, but the Punjab government had refused.
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