Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have joined the league of states that have taken the individuals-centric Urban Local Bodies (ULB) reforms to borrow more from the Centre. While Madhya Pradesh has come up with ‘the Madhya Pradesh Nagarpalik Vidhi Adhyadesh, 2020’, Andhra Pradesh has also issued an Ordinance to amend the Municipal corporation Act, 1995, the Andhra Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1965, the Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation Act, 1979, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation Act, 1981, and the Andhra Pradesh Municipal Corporations Act, 1994. On effectively undertaking the ULBs reforms, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have been granted permission to mobilise more monetary sources to the tune of Rs.4,898 crore by way of open industry borrowings.
Out of these, Andhra Pradesh has received the permission of Rs.2,525 crore, whilst Madhya Pradesh has been permitted to mobilize an more Rs.2,373 crore, according to the Ministry of Finance. It is to be noted that to motivate the states to undertake reforms in a variety of citizen-centric sectors, the Ministry of Finance has linked a portion of more borrowing permission granted to the States to completion of reforms.
In addition to the urban nearby body/ utility reforms, other reforms specified as a pre-situation to avail more borrowing are One Nation One Ration Card, ease of carrying out small business reform, and energy sector reforms. The states are taking measures to bring the above reforms as properly, which are straight intended to advantage the typical individuals. 9 states — Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Tripura, and Uttar Pradesh — have effectively rolled out the PDS reform. On completion of reforms, more borrowing permission of Rs 23,523 crore has also been issued to these states, the finance ministry had earlier apprised.
Meanwhile, the Scheme was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 12 October 2020, as portion of the Atmanirbhar Bharat package. It is aimed at boosting capital expenditure by the state governments who are facing a hard monetary atmosphere this year due to the shortfall in tax income arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the scheme, an quantity of Rs.2,000 crore is earmarked to reward the states who undertake the prescribed citizen-centric reforms.