HP passes bill to levy power generation tax

Himachal Pradesh’s efforts in 1995 to seek the Centre’s nod to levy Generation Tax on hydro-power projects may have failed,but on Friday,Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal laid greater emphasis on joint effort of both BJP and the Congress to get Presidential assent to the Bill.

Overwhelmingly supporting the Himachal Pradesh Electricity (Taxation on Generation) Bill-2011,Congress MLAs justified the BJP government’s move to impose generation tax as part of the state’s resource mobilisation effort. To be levied at paise 25 per unit on the power generated in the state,it will net an income of Rs 675 crore per annum.

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The House also passed five other bills,including one that empowers the government to convert gold received at temples and shrines as donations into gold coins and sell these to the devotees for supplementing temple incomes. The Bill to amend Section 304AA of the IPC — dealing with cases of drunken driving — was also passed by the House. According to the new Bill,which includes both private and government vehicles,now if even drunk driving by private owners results in death,he will either get life term or seven year’s imprisonment.