NVCC felicitates Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis
Nagpur.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reiterates the commitment of Maharashtra Government made during the State Budget that Local Body Taxes (LBT) will be abolished from August 1, 2015. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis began his speech by informing the audience that he is very much the desi person and has not become an English speaking Chief Minister who speaks only in English. He took a dig at the NVCC office-bearers who had submitted a 38 point memorandum in English, saying that they would have assumed that the Chief Minister has gone on foreign tour so will speak only in English. Fadnavis said that an all comprising memorandum is submitted and he would certainly look into the issues and try and redress the grievances of the traders. He said this during programme organized by the Nag Vidarbha Chamber of Commerce, an apex body of Trade and Industry of Vidarbha Region to felicitate Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on being elevated as first time Chief Minister of Maharashtra in the Nag Vidarbha Chamber of Commerce on Saturday the May 2, 2015.
He praised the traders and businessmen who are members and office-bearers of NVCC and said that they have been active participants of every agitation and for every noble cause. In most of the agitation, they were the ones who gave a direction to the agitation. These traders and businessmen have the best interest of the city, the state and the country in their mind whenever they raise any objection. Fadnavis claimed that he is among very important people.
Local Body Tax
He then claimed that he would speak about LBT which everyone present here is eager to hear. He reiterated the commitment of their government and said that the assurance given during the State Budget that the LBT will be abolished on August 1, 2015 holds good.
Amnesty Scheme
He added that his government will soon enforce an Amnesty Scheme for all those traders who could not or did not pay the LBT till March 31, 2015 for some reasons. They can now pay the LBT under this Amnesty Scheme and clear their dues. He said that there was a difference of opinion in enforcing this earlier. He said that while one group claimed that without doing any research in Law, we can enforce this through a Government Notification, while the second group claimed that we would have to bring about an amendment in the law before we enforce this. However, we would bring an amendment in the law if we have to and bring out a notification too.
Withdrawal of cases against traders
To add to that he said that all the cases registered against the traders till November 2014, will be withdrawn. The Chief Minister said that he will notify the Police Commissioner, Superintendent of Police and all the authorities to this effect. Fadnavis said that today, we have a government which listens and debates and redresses problems, so no need to agitate. He claimed that all the pending issues of the trade community will be looked upon seriously and redressed favourably.
Nagpur and Aurangabad are best places to invest in: CM
Devendra Fadnavis said that when he went to France, he met the investors and business community there. He had advocated our country, state and city for investing. He had told the investors there that if anyone wants to invest in India, this is the best time. If anyone wants to invest, Maharashtra is the best and Nagpur and Aurangabad are two cities which are best places to invest now. He claimed that investors and traders have showed positive response to his welcome for investment and soon we may have some good investors investing in our city.
Agro-based industries: Irradiation plant to come up in city
Chief Minister Fadnavis said that since Agriculture plays an important and major role in our economy, more agro-based industries should come up. He said that they are exploring the possibilities of a supply-chain with backward integration. He claimed that on May 1, 2015, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between a Russian Government owned company and a local company.
They are going to come up with an Irradiation company. Fadnavis went on to explain Irradiation. He claimed that food-grains irradiation is a food safety technology designed to eliminate disease-causing germs from foods by treating food with ionizing radiation which can kill bacteria and parasites and increase the life of food-grains. This Russian Company with a local partner is going to set up a unit in Nagpur.
Value-chain
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that when h got to address the World Economists, 50 major companies have shown interest in setting up a value-chain in our country. He said that they are working on the modalities and will soon incorporate 25 lakh farmers in this value chain.
Best Soyabean
CM Fadnavis claimed that certain big business magnate spoke to him and claimed that the Soyabean grown in Vidarbha is of the best quality since it is not genetically modified. He claimed that Genetically modified products or vegetables are not preferred by foreigners and natural products are preferred. However, the businessman also claimed that we (Vidarbhites) are not marketing the naturally grown Soyabeans enough. If we explore possibilities we can incorporate 1.5 lakh farmers in this value chain.
Textile Mills in Amravati
Fadnavis claimed that they had set up a Chemical Zone in Amravati, but not one chemical industry showed interest. So the government has decided to make the zone a Textile Zone. Immediately after declaring the zone as Textile Zone, eight textile companies have come forward to set-up their units in Amravati.
Farmer’s Suicide
Chief Minister said that we have become infamous for farmer’s suicide, which is a mar on our reputation. We should do something significant to remove the ill-repute. We should ensure a proper linkage between the farmers and market. A good relationship should be established between the farmers and the traders.
While concluding his address, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed that the government should consider the traders and business with due respects and honour since they contribute a significant amount to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He claimed that he will definitely look into the grievances of the traders and businessmen and will work towards redressing them.
Earlier, President of NVCC Mayur Panchmatiya read out all the demands mentioned in the memorandum. Immediately after that Rajya Sabha Member Ajay Sancheti addressed the meet and laid the grounds for the address of the Chief Minister. He said that apart from being a member of parliament, I am also a businessman. He appealed to the traders and businessmen that they should give this government at least two years to clean up the mess of 15 years. He asked them to give some time and keep faith in the government. He claimed that the new government is committed to their work and will definitely deliver. All that the traders have to do is to wait and watch. He said that whether it is power tariff, VAT or any other trader related problems they should give the new government to solve these problems.
A large number of BJP leaders from the city including Mayor Praveen Datke, MLA Krishna Khopde, MLA Sudhakar Deshmukh, Dr. Milind Mane, MLA Sameer Meghe, MLA Sudhkar Kolhe, Jayprakash Gupta, Kailashchandra Agrawal, Rameshkumar Mantri, Govindlal Sarda, Prafulbhai Doshi, Rajnikant Gariba, Murlidhar Surjan, Radheshyam Sarda, Suresh Bhojwani, Hemant Khungar, Nilesh Suchak, Jagdish V. Bang, Prakash Mehadia, Ajaykumar Madan, Hemant Gandhi, Manubhai Soni, Raju Vyas, Sachin A. Puniyani, Ashok Sanghvi, Arjundas Ahuja, Dipen Agrawal, Chunibhai Shah and others were present at the occasion. President of NVCC Mayur Panchmatiya and Honorary Secretary of NVCC Manubhai Soni along with all the members of the chamber, Executive Committee, President/ Secretary/ Representative past and present office-bearers of various trade Associations and its members were present in large number to listen to Chief Minister.
