CII wants HP govt to resolve issues of truck unions monopoly, infra in budget

The CII also suggests that business establishments wanting to have their own fleet of vehicles should be allowed to do so and guarded against arm twisting tactics of truck unions by HP government.

Shimla, Jan 30: The Himachal Pradesh government focus on resolving key issues like monopoly of truck unions, property tax levied on industries and lack of infrastructure in the state budget for 2017-18, industry body CII said today.

In a pre-Budget memorandum submitted to the state government today, Sanjay Khurana, Chairman, CII Himachal Pradesh State Council, said, "The Industries have been paying maintenance charges and External Development Charge (EDC) to the various departments of the Government but the levy of property tax levied by Municipal Committees on industrial units is unjustified and has created unnecessary hardship for the industry." CII strongly pleads that the industries should taken out from the purview of property Tax, he said.

The state Government should ensure that Truck Unions stop unfair and monopolistic trade practices as these Unions have already caused a huge damage to ‘Brand Himachal Pradesh’ by way of discouraging fresh investments in the state, it said.

The CII also suggests that business establishments wanting to have their own fleet of vehicles should be allowed to do so and guarded against arm twisting tactics of truck unions, Khurana said. The government should provide adequate infrastructure through special budgetary allocations for the repair and maintenance of roads in various industrial areas of the state.

The State Electricity Board must put in place a robust contingency mechanism for power supply during the winter season as even in the key tourist places like Shimla, Manali and Dalhousie had no power supply for many days, putting people to a lot of inconvenience. The CII suggests that the State Electricity Department should take all precautionary measures and strengthen its infrastructure so that during winter tourists feel delighted to come to Himachal Pradesh,” CII said.

PTI