Pondycherry CM V Narayanasamy urges Centre to supply adequate new currency notes

Puducherry: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Saturday called on the Centre to ensure adequate supply of new Rs 500 and Rs 100 notes to banks in the Union Territory, to meet the demand.

"The Union Finance Ministry should provide sufficient new currency notes to banks in Puducherry to meet the demand," he told reporters in Puducherry.

"Customers are facing hardship as the banks do not have sufficient supply of new notes. There is still difficulty for people to get change even after doing business at retail centres," he claimed.

Welcoming the Centre's drive against black money and corruption, he said, "All basic requirements should have been met before implementing demonetisation."

He stated that the territorial government had started bearing the impact of the fall in business and trade.

"In excise sector alone, the Puducherry government has suffered a 15% fall in revenue during the last few weeks," he claimed.

Narayansamy said he will apprise the Union Finance Minister of the prevailing situation, at the GST Council meet in New Delhi slated for two days from tomorrow," he said.

The Congress leader said the Centre should adopt a uniform yardstick between the northern and southern states in making currencies available for the banks.

He also said a committee has been set up to evolve steps to ensure that the Centre's initiative to realise cashless transactions was people friendly.