VIJAYAWADA: Stating that there is an additional burden on the resources of States because of the huge expenditure on public health due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy urged the Centre to release all the pending dues to the States in the difficult time.
Attending the GST Council meeting chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman through a video conference from here on Monday, Buggana said the revenue of States was hit as the cess and surcharges imposed and collected by the Centre are not in the divisible pool and wanted the Centre to be generous towards States.
He felt the need for holding more meetings to achieve consensus on the GST compensation issue. Thanking the Finance Minister for releasing some portion of the GST compensation pending to AP, he urged her to release the IGST dues at the earliest.