PM announces excise duty holiday for Kutch

By Manas Dasgupta

BHUJ (Kutch), JUNE 3. Amid bandhs and black flag demonstrations, the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, today announced a five-year excise duty holiday for industries in the earthquake- ravaged Kutch district in Gujarat and asked the State Government to cut red-tape to expedite the rehabilitation and reconstruction activities.

Addressing a public meeting here today after laying the foundation stone of a modern civil hospital to be constructed from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund in place of the old civil hospital which collapsed in the earthquake on Republic Day, Mr. Vajpayee said the tax exemption would also be applicable to the intermediary materials used for industrial production in the district.

ST holiday

The Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr. Keshubhai Patel, announced a sales tax holiday for industrial and commercial houses in the district for the same period they would enjoy the Central tax exemptions to help revive the economy.

Mr. Vajpayee had a dig at the Congress, which staged a black-flag demonstration on his way from the airport to the meeting venue, and said it was not the time for politicking, which could be settled during the elections, but requested all to cooperate with the administration to provide the quickest possible relief and rehabilitation to the roofless.

Despite the best of intentions there had been complaints of delay and mismanagement in the distribution of relief by the State administration. But Mr. Vajpayee denied there was any `deliberate discrimination' on grounds of caste or religion in relief distribution.

Advising the Opposition and the agitators, Mr. Vajpayee said the Centre was keeping a close watch on rehabilitation and reconstruction and complaints would be looked into and redressed amicably.

Mr. Vajpayee said he had handed over to the State Government the report of a parliamentary committee which visited the district last month. But he advised the Chief Minister to prepare a time schedule for each of the reconstruction activity. ``You must remove sluggishness in the implementation,'' he told the Chief Minister. There should not also be any discrimination on castiest and religious grounds in a country which believed in equality for all.

Mr. Vajpayee also announced the Centre's all-out support for the Narmada dam project. His Government would expedite the project to enable Kutch to reap its benefits. Earlier, the Chief Minister explained the State Government's resolve to implement the Narmada pipeline project within a year to provide drinking water to all the villages and towns in the border districts.

Rly. project inaugurated

Mr. Vajpayee also inaugurated the broad gauge conversion of the 56-km Gandhidham-Bhuj railway track and flagged off the ``Kutch Express,'' the first train on the new track which had been extended from Gandhidham to the district headquarter of Bhuj.

He was accompanied by the Union Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani, who, however, did not address the gathering due to shortage of time, the Railway Minister, Mr. Nitish Kumar, and the Union Minister of State for Energy, Ms. Jaywantiben Mehta. The Governor, Mr. Sunder Singh Bhandari, was also present as also the State Health and Industries Minister, Mr. Suresh Mehta.

The `bandh' call received a mixed response with many of the shops and business establishments in the town remaining open despite it being a Sunday. A section of the business community did not join the bandh particularly after the State Government announced on Friday a revised package, largely conceding many of the major demands of the urbanites.

However, the former Speaker of the State Assembly, Mr. Kundanlal Dholakiya, led a batch of senior citizens of Bhuj for a day-long dharna in protest against the `step-motherly attitude' of the State Government towards Kutch.

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