Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 3: Apoorva Srivastava, Ambassador Designate of India to Slovak Republic called on Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhawan, today.
The meeting discussed a range of issues that covered various sectors of J&K UT including trade & investment and promotion of foreign tourism.
Meanwhile, former General Secretary of Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jammu, Gaurav Gupta, had a productive meeting with Lt. Governor to address critical concerns concerning the general public and traders fraternity.
Gaurav mentioned that Gandhi Nagar colony, established in the early 1960s, has been home to generations of residents. Over the years, the original allottees have passed on their portions of the plot to their children and, in some cases, even their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He said some have sold parts of their plots for the betterment of their families. However, the Housing Board is currently not issuing NOCs for plot approval and transfer, causing significant inconvenience and injustice to the property owners.
Furthermore, over the past 50 years, the Government has not created enough additional colonies to accommodate the growing population, leading to the proliferation of unapproved unauthorized colonies in Jammu. Interestingly, the maps of plots in these unauthorized colonies have been approved while plots duly developed by the Government’s Housing Board remain deprived of such approvals, he added.
He requested the Lt Governor to intervene and facilitate the issuance of NOCs for plot approval and transfer in Gandhi Nagar Colony.
Secondly, Gaurav Gupta discussed the timely disbursement of the 2% / 3% turnover incentive for existing industries in Jammu and Kashmir. With the abolition of Toll Tax and implementation of GST, existing industries have faced challenges in maintaining competitiveness against outside entities. The Government introduced a scheme to provide turnover incentives, but the delay in disbursement due to limited funds is causing liquidity stress and discouraging potential new industrial units from setting up in the state.
Gupta earnestly requested the Government to allocate the necessary funds promptly and issue instructions for the timely disbursement of the turnover incentive, as it is crucial to supporting the survival and competitiveness of existing industries in Jammu and Kashmir.