The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : State contemplates surcharge on retail chains

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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

State contemplates surcharge on retail chains

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government was actively considering a legislation to impose a surcharge on retail chains and malls run by monopolies, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan told the Assembly on Thursday.

Replying to a submission by M. Murali (Congress) and members from different parties, the Chief Minister said that, as things stood, the State government could do only little to prevent opening of retail chains and malls. Although the local self-government institutions had withdrawn the licences they had issued to some of the malls and retail chain shops, the Kerala High Court had intervened and directed them to revive the licences, he pointed out.

Mr. Achuthanandan attributed the proliferation of retail chains in Kerala to the change in the policies of the Union government with regard to monopolies. The Centre had initially relaxed the law seeking to check the activities of monopolies and later scrapped it completely leaving the field open to multinational and national monopolies.

He said the government was aware of the serious danger that the retail chains posed to petty traders who constituted a large segment of the employment sector in the State. It had all along taken a firm stand against the monopolies but had to give in when the

High Court intervened on behalf of the retail chains. In Thiruvananthapuram alone, the Municipal Corporation had to restore the licences of five malls on the basis of court orders.

The legislation the government was contemplating would be comprehensive and aimed at curbing the proliferation of such outlets, Mr. Achuthanandan said.

Earlier, Mr. Murali made a strong pitch for stern action against the retail chains which, he said, would kill the petty trade in the State. He called for a comprehensive legislation to check the proliferation of malls and retail outlets of multinational and national monopolies and withdrawal of licences given to such groups.

Mr. Achuthanandan informed P. Jayarajan (CPI-M) that the State Bank of India (SBI) had informed the State government that the Retail Assets and Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Centres being set up by it to service loans for trade, housing and education purposes were meant only to expedite grant loans and would not deny the facilities already available to the people.

Waterway in two years

The Chief Minister told Anathalavattom Anandan (CPI-M) that the Kollam-Thiruvananthapuram State waterway would be completed in two years.

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