• Now Drabu contradicts Industries minister, says policy on hold
• ‘Likely changes at budget session end’
A day after Minister for Industries, Chandra Prakash Ganga’s statement on New Industrial Policy raised a political storm, Minister for Finance, Haseeb Drabu Thursday sought to allay the fears, saying that the policy has indeed been put on hold.
“The provision regarding the industrial estates has been put on hold,” Drabu said in the Legislative Assembly. “The confusion was created on this and we have put it (New Industrial Policy) on hold.”
He said that if there would be any changes in the policy, the government would bring in an SRO at the end of the ongoing budget session.
The issue was raised by Engineer Rashid and Hakeem Yaseen who asked the government how it had implemented the New Industrial Policy when SRO 105 had been put on hold.
The Industries Minister, Chandra Prakash Ganga had told the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday that the New Industrial Policy was not being changed and was already in force since March 15, 2016.
The government’s statements on the implementation of the New Industrial Policy has been confusing with the government spokesman and Minister for Education, Naeem Akhtar saying on May 12, 2016 that the government had decided to revisit and review the New Industrial Policy, which was approved by the State Administrative Council on March 15, 2016 during the Governor’s rule.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti too had earlier said that nobody should harbour any misconception that there was a threat to J&K’s special status by the new industrial policy and equated it to the one adopted by the former chief minister and National Conference (NC) founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah in 1975.
As Drabu made the statement in the House, senior NC leader and MLA Khanyar, Ali Muhammad Sagar kept interrupting Drabu.
“Your Industries minister yesterday said the New Industrial Policy hasn’t been put on hold,” Sagar said seeking clarification over the issue.
CPI (M) State Secretary and MLA Kulgam, Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami, MLA Inderwal and senior Congress leader Ghulam Muhammad Saroori and Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) chief and MLA Langate, Engineer Rasheed supported Sagar and demanded a clear statement of the government over New Industrial Policy and the GST regime.
Detailing the review of the New Industrial Policy and the issue regarding the GST regime, Drabu told the opposition legislators to that they should have gone through the contents of Governor’s speech.
Quoting Para 56 of the Governor’s speech regarding the New Industrial Policy, he said that there was a clear mention of how the policy would not harm the special status of J&K.
“My government and my position is clear on it that the current GST has not provided any safeguards to J&K,” said Drabu who attended a meeting on GST of all 28 finance ministers across India in New Delhi on Tuesday.
“I said at the meeting that the current GST law cannot be allowed to overrule the J&K laws,” he said.
MLA Khan Sahab Hakeem Muhammad Yaseen had on Wednesday said that only Tamil Nadu had objected to the GST regime in the meeting that Drabu also attended.
Drabu sought to clarify this saying that Tamil Nadu had objected to GST being a manufacturing state.
He sought forming a special committee to chalk out modalities as how Jammu Kashmir could recover taxes under the GST.
To a question of MLA Udhampur, Pawan Gupta on how Jammu Kashmir could levy taxes on helicopter services to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine and Amarnath shrine when taxes on Helicopter services fall in the union list, Drabu said Jammu Kashmir was guided by its own 1962 J&K Sales Tax Act under which the State had powers to levy taxes on 29 services.
“Don’t make it an issue of religion versus taxes,” he said.
Telling the opposition members if they still had issues, Drabu said in that case they could approach the court.
