Completely disagreeing with the Centre’s proposal that the States and the Union Territories borrow to meet the shortfall in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country, Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy said under the GST Act, 2017, the Union government was bound to compensate the States for loss of revenue.
In an online press conference, the Chief Minister said the Centre’s proposal at the GST Council meeting was that the States and the Union Territories consider borrowing to compensate the deficit of ₹2.3 lakh crore in the current fiscal.
“The Centre has asked us to borrow and repay the amount in five years. It is not at all acceptable and I have written to the Prime Minister, asking the Centre to compensate for the loss. It is easy for the Union government to borrow from the Reserve Bank of India or other agencies,” the Chief Minister said.
Expressing displeasure at the lack of public cooperation to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Chief Minister said that without the public adhering to the advisory of maintaining social distancing and personal hygiene, the pandemic could not be controlled.
The government would hold a meeting with private medical colleges on Thursday to formalise a coordinated action plan to provide treatment to COVID-19 patients. The Health Department had initiated steps to start 12 fever clinics to screen people for the virus and also recruit more doctors and para medical staff, the Chief Minister said.
