New Delhi, May 5 (IANS): Defending the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said the anti-terror intelligence hub will "supplement" the anti-terror capabilities of states and "not supplant" them.

"It is not the government's intention to affect distribution of powers between states and the union (government)," Manmohan Singh told chief ministers at a meeting over the controversial NCTC, which is on hold following opposition by non-Congress ruled states.

"The setting up of NCTC is aimed to coordinate counter-terror efforts throughout this vast country... The NCTC will supplement the states' anti-terror capabilities and not supplant them," he said.

"It is not the state versus centre issue," Singh said, in a bod to allay fears of some chief ministers, including West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee and Gujarat's Narendra Modi.

"The NCTC should be a vehicle of our combined efforts to eradicate terrorism. Terrorism is one of the threats to our national security. Neither the state nor the centre can fulfil this task alone," the prime minister said in his address to the day-long meeting.