Lok Sabha Question No. 3199 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-08-07
Subject: Meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: JAGDAMBIKA PAL, T.G. VENKATESH BABU, NAGENDRA KUMAR PRADHAN

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF PLANNING

LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3199

TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.08.2015

**MEETING OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF NITI AAYOG**

3199.   Shri Jagdambika Pal

SHRI venkatesh babu t.g.

Shri nagendra kumar pradhan:

Will the Minister of  PLANNING be pleased to state:

1. whether the Government  has recently convened a meeting of the Governing 	Council of NITI Aayog;
2. if so, the details thereof along with the number of issues discussed in the said 	meeting;
3. whether the Governing Council of NITI Aayog has made any consultations on the 	Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation 	and Resettlement Act, if so, the details thereof;
4. the details of the suggestions given by various States/UTs during  the said meeting;
5. whether the Government has examined various such suggestions given by 	States/UTs; and
6. if so, the details thereof and the action taken/proposed to be taken by the 	Government thereon?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE FOR DEFENCE

(RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

(a) & (b):    Yes, Madam, the second Meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog was held on 15th July, 2015 under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister. The issues discussed in the meeting include  (i) Confirmation of the minutes of the first meeting of the Governing Council and Action Taken Report on decisions taken in the first meeting and (ii) Consultations on the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.  As a follow up action of the decisions taken in the First Meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, three Sub Groups of Chief Ministers namely (i) Rationalisation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes, (ii) Skill Development and (iii) Swachh Bharat Abhiyan were constituted.  In addition, it was also decided that the States may set up two Task Forces on Agriculture Development and Elimination of Poverty in their respective States.  The Governing Council directed NITI Aayog to set up two such task forces within NITI Aayog to work with the States to support their efforts. Accordingly, these taskforces have been constituted in the NITI Aayog to support the States. The reports of the Sub-Groups / Task Forces are in advance stage of finalization.. Details in this regard are given at Annexure-A.

(c) to (f):   In this meeting , the Council also  held consultations on the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. In view of the concerns raised by States with regard to the implementation of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, the views of Chief Ministers were elicited with regard to the status of its implementation in their respective States.

Annexure-A

Annexure to the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3199 due for answer on 07.08.2015 regarding the ‘Meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog’

The first Governing Council Meeting of the NITI Aayog has decided following:

1. Formation of Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on

1. Rationalisation of Centrally Sponsored Scheme
2. Skill Development
3. Swachh Bharat Mission

2. Formation of task Forces in States and in NITI Aayog on

1. Elimination of poverty
2. Agriculture Development

3. Creation of Institutional arrangement in each State for faster completion of important projects

Progress in compliance of above instructions is as follows:

9. Sub- Group of Chief Ministers on Rationalization of Centrally Sponsored Schemes:

The Sub-Group has been constituted.  Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, J&K, Jharkhand, Kerala, Manipur, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and LG of A&N Islands are Members and CM of Madhya Pradesh is Convener. The Sub-Group has held 4 meetings so far: New Delhi: 27-03-2015; New Delhi: 27-04-2015; Bhopal 28-04-2015 and New Delhi: 27-06-2015. In addition the Sub-Group has held detailed consultation with Central Ministries and States/UTs which are not represented by their CM/LG in the sub-group. Recommendations of the Sub-Group are in the advance stage of finalization.

ii) Sub- Group of CMs on Skill Development: The Sub-Group of the Chief Ministers has been constituted under the Convenership of CM, Punjab. The Chief Ministers of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Odisha, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu are Members of the Sub-Group.

First Meeting of the Sub Group was held in Delhi on 25 th April, 2015 followed by consultation with the Central Ministries on 6 th May, 2015; and Regional Consultation  were held on 11 th May, 2015 at Shillong, Meghalaya, The second  meeting of the Sub-Group was held on 7 th June 2015 to discuss the draft Report at Raipur.  The Sub-Group has sought extension of time till 25-07-2015. The Report is under finalization.

iii). Sub-Group of CMs on Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan    The Sub-Group has been notified. It consists of Chief Ministers of Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and West Bengal as Members. CM, Andhra Pradesh is Convener of this Sub-Group.  The Sub-Group has held three meetings:  New Delhi: 30-4-2015, Chandigarh: 19-05-2015 and Bengaluru: 24-06-2015. The draft report of the Sub-Group is under preparation. The Sub-Group has sought extension of time till 15-08-2015.

iv).  Task Force on Elimination of Poverty in India This Task Force was constituted in NITI Aayog on 16th March, 2015 under the Chairmanship of Dr. Arvind Panagariya, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog. So far three meetings have been held on 7-04-2015; 20-05-2015 and 29-06-2015.  NITI Aayog has received confirmation from 17 States regarding constitution of State level Task Force.

NITI Aayog has prepared a Concept note which has been circulated to all States/UTs for their views. States have been requested to send their reports so that a final Report may be prepared by NITI Aayog.

v). Task Force on Agriculture Development The Taskforce has been constituted on 16 th March, 2015 in NITI Aayog on 16-03-2015 under the chairmanship of Dr. Arvind Panagariya, VC. The NITI Task Force held expert consultation on 31 st March, 2015 followed by its first meeting on 6 th April, 2015. The consultation with farmers’ representatives was held on 24 th April, 2015.  The third meeting was held on 4 th June, 2015 to deliberate on the issues of organic farming, GM Crops and Hybrids with NGOs, farmers’ representatives and experts. The concept paper was prepared on the basis of the discussions of the first meeting of NITI Taskforce and circulated to all States/UTs. Most of the States have constituted their Task Forces but only six States namely Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra, Kerala, Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh could provide their report so far. The report is likely to be finalized by 31 st August, 2015 after seeking the inputs and recommendations the States.