New Delhi, June 16 (UNI) Contentious issues of full statehood for Delhi and the pending Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh are expected to echo in the fourth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog here on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may give further push to his pet projects including doubling farmers' income and some of the flagship schemes.
In the build-up to the annual event, which is often described as gathering of 'Team India' by the National Democratic Alliance government, regional satraps and Chief Ministers including Mamata Banerjee, N Chandrababu Naidu and H D Kumaraswamy have held informal discussions and pledged support to 'agitating' Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party.
Ms Banerjee and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Mr Naidu have already met separately and are expected to meet Mr Kejriwal.
According to insiders, Karnataka CM Mr Kumaraswamy is also scheduled to hold a meeting with his Andhra Pradesh counterpart.
Earlier in the day, government sources said doubling farmers’ income; progress of flagship schemes-- Ayushman Bharat, National Nutrition Mission and Mission Indradhanush--are likely to be part of the official agenda of the consultations to be held at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Prime Minister Modi, who will chair the meeting, tweeted, 'Looking forward to the 4th Governing Council meeting of @NITIAayog tomorrow. Implementation of key policies relating to a wide range of sectors will be discussed during the meeting.'
According to official sources, the Council is also expected to discuss development of aspirational districts in various states and celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Mr Naidu has dropped hints that he could rake up the Centre failure to fulfilg its promises vis-a-vis the Special Category Status and provisions of AP Reorganisation Act.
Mr Naidu, Ms Mamata Banerjee, Mr Kumaraswamy and also Kerala's Marxist Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also met separately.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is likely to place a report on the downsizing of the Uttar Pradesh departments before the Niti Aayog Governing Council.
A report on the subject has been prepared by a committee headed by the state principal secretary Sanjay Agarwal.
The day-long meeting will be attended by Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories and senior officials from the Central government.
The Governing Council is the premier body tasked with evolving a shared vision of national development priorities, sectors and strategies with the active involvement of States in shaping the development narrative.
It reviews the work done during the previous year and deliberates upon the future developmental priorities.
Rajnath Singh (Home), Nitin Gadkari (Road Transport & Highways) and Radha Mohan Singh are among the Union Ministers expected to attend the deliberations.
UNI DEVN RP2012