The Hindu : Cut in Central taxes to attract investments in Uttaranchal: PM

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 31, 2002

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Cut in Central taxes to attract investments in Uttaranchal: PM

By Our Staff Correspondent

NAINI TAL MARCH 30. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, announced today that a suitable cut in Central taxes and Central excise duty will be effected soon to attract investments in the industrial sector in Uttaranchal and other special category States.

All those industries, which are eco-friendly, provide employment to local youth and use locally available raw material will be eligible to avail this "cut'' aimed at developing the backward regions of the country.

Mr. Vajpayee was speaking to presspersons on the third day of his four-day holiday in this lake city called the `Pearl of Uttaranchal'.

Visibly relaxed and happy with the hospitality of the Uttaranchal people, Mr. Vajpayee said he would return to Delhi a rejuvenated man tomorrow.

Most of the announcements he made were the outcome of the strong lobbying by the State Chief Minister, Narain Dutt Tiwari, over the past two days.

The Centre had given Rs. 550 crores to Uttaranchal as a special category State for last year's annual plan and would provide suitable assistance in the next fiscal year also.

Good news came for the Tehri Dam oustees as Mr. Vajpayee said that the State Government's request to provide Rs. 5 lakhs as cash component of the rehabilitation plan to each affected family had been accepted.

NABARD will give Rs. 150 crores under the `Rural Infrastructure Development Fund' scheme during the next financial year for creation of need-based infrastructure to Uttaranchal as against Rs. 40 crores given this year.

A sum of Rs. 20 crores has been sanctioned for six new schemes under the `Integrated Watershed Development Programme'.

All lakes in Naini Tal district will be developed as major tourist attractions under the `National Lake Conservation Programme'. Similarly, the Centre would consider any plan to develop further the tourism infrastructure in the four higher Himalayan shrines as a `special circuit' by the State Government.

The parameters of rural development programmes in the hills will be relaxed so as to facilitate easy and fast development in the hostile terrain.

Mr. Vajpayee sanctioned Rs. 20 crores for the `Rural Sanitation Improvement Programme' and the State Government has been asked to identify one district for this purpose.

Similarly, one more district will be given Rs. 20 crores for improvement of rural roads.

An additional amount of Rs. 12 crores was sanctioned for building 5,000 additional houses under the `Indira Awas Yojana' in the landslide-hit areas of the State. .

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