I-T queries on Gujarat MoUs a mistake: PM

GANDHINAGAR: CM Narendra Modi raised the issue of income tax department asking Gujarat government for details of MoUs, pledging more than Rs 1,000 crore investment, at Vibrant Gujarat global investors' summit during a meeting with PM Manmohan Singh on Saturday.

The PM told Modi it was wrong and a mistake when he heard about the I-T department's letter to the state government seeking details, including the amount of committed investment and actual investment, said a Modi aide. Singh assured an extra Rs 4,600 crore from the Centre's kitty to develop a canal network for the Narmada project.

The PM responded positively to Modi's request to consider 8.58 lakh hectares of Narmada command area as drought prone, and for the Centre to bear 90% of the cost of canal networking in the region falling mainly in north Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch. ''We will look into the matter at the earliest,'' PM was quoted as telling Modi. The CM also discussed Centre funds for implementing RTE.