M A I N   N E W S

Fresh taxes in HP on cards
Mobilise own resources, plan panel tells Dhumal
Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 26
Fresh taxes are expected to be imposed in Himachal Pradesh by the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, in his Budget next month as the Planning Commission has clearly told him not to resort to market borrowings but to mobilise resources of the state.

The Planning Commission has so far refused to pass the state’s Plan of Rs 1720 crore for the next financial year and has asked the state government to come up with concrete proposals towards mobilising its own resources. The Planning Commission has refused to accept market borrowings of the state government as a resource.

Although Mr Dhumal refused to say anything on fresh taxation, he said here today that the Planning Commission wanted the state to reduce its market borrowings as the resources were being diverted towards clearance of debts.

He said the state had to take steps to reduce expenditure to tide over the present financial crisis, which he described as “precarious”.

He said he was trying to obtain additional Central assistance as well as mobilise resources. He said he had made it clear to the Centre that for mobilising an income of Rs 50 crore, a tax of Rs 100 shall have to be imposed on each resident of the state. This was an impossible measure.

He said the effort would be to obtain financial assistance from the Centre until Himachal Pradesh was in a position to generate its own resources. The emphasis would be on cutting expenditure. The financial crisis would be fought with the help of the people at the grassroots level and by correcting economic imbalances.

The Planning Commission had appreciated Himachal as the best administered state with best social indicators.

He said his government had taken various steps aimed at making Himachal self-sustainable in the matter of finance by the year 2010. The mindset of the people had to be changed.

Besides hydroelectric projects, emphasis was being laid on information technology institutes and bio-technology. Software worth about Rs 2000 crore would be exported from here annually within the next few years.

The Union Energy Minister, Mr Suresh Prabhu, had promised that bilateral agreements for power projects for generating about 11,000 mw would be signed soon and work on these started in the next one-and-a-half year.

He said an annual income of about Rs 789 crore would come to Himachal from the free power from some of the projects which would be commissioned by 2007. The Malana hydel project would be commissioned in the next 30 months.