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Journalism of Courage
A meeting of the World MSME Forum was held at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s residence Monday to discuss issues concerning tax evasion, industrial policy, and renewable energy.
World MSME Forum president Badish Jindal who attended the meeting said, “I raised serious concerns over large-scale tax evasion in the state. There is revenue leakage in Punjab, which continues to exceed Rs 15,000 crore. Several GST officials were complicit and Punjab has become a market for those selling goods without bills. Nearly 90 per cent of tax evasion is taking place in the housing sector, and the GST department has failed to act.”
Adding that many officials in the department possessed assets worth billions, he said, “Taking note of this, the CM directed Chief Secretary KAP Sinha to hold a separate meeting with the forum and take steps to plug tax evasion in the state.”
The Forum also flagged issues related to the functioning of Invest Punjab, saying that while policies look impressive on paper, industries face numerous procedural hurdles in practice. “It takes bundles of paperwork to get permissions for CLU and construction,” Jindal said, adding that Mann said that the state’s upcoming industrial policy would include a self-certification regime to make approvals faster and reduce bureaucratic delays.
The Forum also urged Renewable Energy Minister Aman Arora to establish a separate 1,000 MW solar power cluster in Mandi Gobindgarh, arguing that industries paying Rs 7 per unit for electricity could access solar power at Rs 2–2.50 per unit.
Arora said that his department had asked the Rural Development and Panchayat Department to list all shamlat lands located near power grids for potential solar projects.
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