Parties urged to stop politicising Kutch tax holiday issue

The Gandhidham Chamber of Commerce and Industry has appealed to the Central government to rise above party politics and extend the excise holiday to the district by at least two years.

Stating that the people and industries of Kutch district were disappointed by the statement of Union finance minister P Chidambaram that there was no proposal to extend the excise exemption period beyond December 31, 2004, the GCCI has requested the government to reconsider the decision.

GCCI president Babulal Singhvi said that, following the statement by the Union finance minister, the chamber has appealed yet again to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress party president Sonia Gandhi and finance minister P Chidambaram, asking them not to view the Kutch excise exemption as a political issue.

Singhvi said that, right after independence, the Kutch district has been one of the worst hit. While the entire Saurashtra and Kutch areas have faced severe drought conditions for decades, Kutch has also been hit by other natural disasters like cyclones and the massive earthquake.

"Until about a year ago, Kutch was perhaps last on the list of sites where industrialists were keen to invest or expand their capacities. It is only recently that the district has been attracting huge investments, and if the excise exemption is terminated, industries will see no incentive to invest in Kutch," said Singhvi.

He added that while the earlier NDA government might have its differences with the present UPA government at the Centre, development of Kutch district must not be hit.

Singhvi said the Gandhidham chamber has made it clear to the Central government that if the excise exemption limit is not extended until March 31, 2007, like the extension to other backward areas of Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Sikkim, the district might face a bleak future.

The Central government had announced a special package for Kutch district after it suffered widespread damage because of the January 26, 2001 earthquake. The special incentives were originally effective from July 31, 2001 to July 31, 2003, but were extended to December 2004.

Established in 1953, the Gandhidham Chamber of Commerce and Industry has 1600 direct members from the Kutch district and 36 members representing by trade associations and industries' bodies of the region.

Apart from the Gandhidham Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kutch MP Pushpadan Gadhvi and the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry have also expressed disappointment over the announcement of the UPA government that it had no intention of extending excise exemption beyond December 2004.