Jaipur, Sep 02: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has sought special grant-in-aid package for the state in view of the hardships faced by it due to scanty rainfall. At a high level meeting with members of 12th Finance Commission headed by Dr C Rangarajan here, Gehlot said that the funds available in the calamity relief fund were not adequate.

The size of the corpus of the calamity relief should be increased and the states' contribution reduced from 25 per cent to 10 per cent, he demanded.
The Chief Minister said that for proper utilisation of available resources, transfer of centrally sponsored schemes to states should be considered. This would reduce the cost of implementation and improve the quality of management.


He also suggested that central grants be given for implementation of employment guarantee scheme in states whose income was below national average.
Gehlot said that despite financial hardships the state had implemented the mid-day school meal programme.

The scheme had been very successful as it provided supplementary nutrition to 78 lakh children of 72,000 schools, he added.

Bureau Report