Madhya Pradesh has also completed a part of the fourth – the power sector reform.
Citizen-Centric Reforms: Madhya Pradesh has become the first state in the country to receive additional funds for capital projects for successfully carrying out reforms in various citizen-centric areas. The Department of Expenditure of the Ministry of Finance has allocated additional Rs.660 crore to Madhya Pradesh for capital expenditure. According to a statement released by the Finance Ministry, the centre’s allocation for the state is for undertaking the one nation, one ration card reforms, the ease of doing business reforms, and the urban local bodies reforms. Madhya Pradesh has also completed a part of the fourth reform, namely the power sector reform.
The expenditure department of the Finance Ministry approved a list of capital projects with an estimated cost of Rs.660 crore. 50 per cent of the approved amount, specifically Rs.330 crore has also been released to Madhya Pradesh as the first installment for the approved projects.
The ‘special assistance to states for capital expenditure’ scheme was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on October 12, 2020, as part of the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat package. The scheme is aimed at boosting the capital expenditure by the state governments that are facing a difficult financial environment this year due to a shortfall in tax revenue arising amid the COVID 19 pandemic.
So far, the capital expenditure proposals worth Rs.10,657 crore of 27 States have been approved by the Ministry of Finance. An amount of Rs.5,328 crore has already been released to the states as the first instalment under the scheme. The capital expenditure projects have been approved in diverse sectors of economy like, Health, Rural Development, Water Supply, Irrigation, Power, Transport, Education, Urban Development.