Tuki pleads Centre for special funding window

our correspondent

Itagar, September 10: Aruchal Pradesh Chief Minister bam Tuki has urged the Centre to provide a special window of funding to foster overall growth and development in the state. Tuki called on NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Arvind Pagariya at New Delhi on Wednesday and submitted a proposal ‘Priority Areas for Development in Aruchal Pradesh’ for consideration by NITI Aayog, an official communiqué said here today.

The proposal while giving a overview of the developmental journey of the state focuses primarily on projects related to Administrative Reforms, Connectivity, Marketing Infrastructure Linkages, Basic Minimum Services, Border Area Development along with a host of other important issues. The chief minister mentioned that the ratiole of this proposal was to ensure the completion of several projects which were started under the Special Plan Assistance (SPA) window of the Planning Commission.

While explaining the ramifications of the institutiol changes in the wake of transition from Planning Commission to NITI Aayog, Tuki explained that SPA funding by the erstwhile Planning Commission has been a growth driver for creating infrastructure in Aruchal Pradesh.

During the last five years as many as 1498 critical assets were created in the state with liberal funding through SPA. However, delinking of this important window of funding has landed the state in a tight corner not only in completing ongoing projects but also to take up other critical development projects, he pointed out. The comprehensive concept note on the proposal submitted encompasses key areas such as safe drinking water, district secretariats, cement concrete roads, warehousing and cold storages near railheads, PDS storage godowns, helipads in border areas, stadiums, Greenfield Airport, High Court building, among others.

In the meeting that lasted around 45 minutes, Dr Pagariya accepted the invitation of the chief minister to visit Aruchal towards the end of the year to gain firsthand knowledge of the geographical terrain and development potential of the state, the communiqué added.

Earlier, in another meeting, Tuki requested for establishment of an Income Tax office in the state capital for convenience of the people, who have to travel all the way to Income Tax offices in Assam for all tax related issues.

Tuki, who called on Chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, Anita Kapur made the request citing that most government servants – both state and central – army and paramilitary personnel and those working in the private sector, who hail from outside the state, are facing inconveniences to fulfill income tax related official business for want of an Income Tax office in the state. He informed the Chairperson that the state government is in the process of establishing a Central Government Office (CGO) complex in Itagar, wherein an Income Tax office could also be accommodated. He said the state government will allot land for the CGO complex and will be constructed under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Urban Development. Even though the predomint tribal populace of the state is exempted from Income Tax, Tuki pointed that a sizeable population of non-tribal people is based in Aruchal Pradesh, besides a lot of investment is happening in several sectors like hydropower, tourism and infrastructure.

“To cater to these categories of tax payers, the Board may kindly establish an Income Tax office in Aruchal Pradesh,” the chief minister requested. Responding positively to the ‘genuine’ request, Kapur assured that the Board would look into the matter and initiate the process for establishing an office in Itagar, the communiqué added.