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Hooda announces tax waiver scheme

YAMUNANAGAR: Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday announced a bonanza for the people on the occasion of Haryana Day and the ongoing festive season.

Addressing a public rally here after launching the process of synchronisation of the first 300 MW unit of the 600 MW Deen Bandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Plant, Mr. Hooda announced waiver of house tax in urban areas and chulha tax in rural areas from April 2008 provided the people deposit their arrears, if any, by March 31, 2008.

He asserted that the second unit 300 MW unit of the power project would be completed by February. After the completion of the project, people of Yamunanagar and surrounding areas in the radius of 10 km would get uninterrupted power supply, he added.

Striking a political note, he said the power plant should have been dedicated to the people many years ago. He squarely blamed his predecessors for not doing so and rattled off statistics to assert that the project cost had shot up from Rs.400 crore when it as conceived in 1991 to Rs.2,400 crore due to the inordinate delay.

While admitting that power shortage was a grim problem facing the State, he asserted his government had taken concrete steps unlike his predecessors to enhance power generation by 5,000 MW. It was a harsh reality that during the past 40 years the successive governments had hardly created any infrastructure. The total power generated in the State after its inception amounted to 1,587 MW and the total availability of power was 4,015 MW from all resources. The expected demand of power by 2009 would be 8,500 MW.

The Chief Minister asserted that the 1,200 MW Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Plant at Khedar in Hisar district would be ready by 2009. The 1,500 MW Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Plant at Jharli in Jhajjar district would also be ready before the start of the Commonwealth Games in 2010, he added.

Mr. Hooda described the late Deen Bandhu Chhotu Ram as a visionary, idealist and man of principles who worked for the welfare of the peasantry and others poor sections of society.

He urged the people to deposit their arrears of cooperative loans by the year-end to avail of the benefit of interest waiver scheme.

Assembly Speaker Raghubir Singh Kadian, Power Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala, PCC president Phool Chand Mullana, Member of Parliament Naveen Jindal, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Dharambir Singh and Parliamentary Secretary Krishna Pandit were among those present at the rally.

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