Orissa to exempt VAT on goods used in RGGVJ

Bhubaneswar, Jul 22 (UNI) The Orissa government today decided to exempt the VAT and entry tax on electrical goods required for implementation of the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyut Yojana in the state.

State finance minister P C Ghadhei said the decision was taken at a meeting of the Energy and Finance department here today.

Mr Ghadhei said the state agreed to the Union government's suggestion in this regard so as to benefit the poor people of the state.

He said the scheme would cover 60,000 habitations. As many as 32 lakh BPL families would get free electricity connection under the scheme.

While the Centre would bear 90 per cent of the projected cost, the rest would be borne by the State Government.

The government, Mr Ghadhei said, also decided not to charge inspection fee of Rs 30 from the beneficiaries of the scheme.

He said the Union government today cleared 12 more districts of the state for implementation of the scheme. The districts were --Deogarh, Nuapara, Kalahandi, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Bolangir, Baragarha, Koraput, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar,Boudh and Sonepur.

The scheme is presently implemented in Angul, Nayagarh, Gajapati Ganjam, Puri, Jajpur and Balasore districts.

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