The Kozhikode Municipal Corporation will lose ₹8 crore every year in terms of entertainment tax as a result of implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the country. It was Mayor Thottathil Raveendran who brought this to the attention of the Council on Monday during a discussion on an adjournment motion jointly presented by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) councillor C. Adbu Rahiman and Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] councillor V.T. Sathyan regarding confusion among industrial and trade bodies in the city with regard to GST.
The execution of GST resulted in non-levying of entertainment tax by local self-government bodies, creating a huge hole in the civic body’s exchequer. The Mayor said the issue would be brought up in the Mayor’s Council to be held next week to clear ambiguity surrounding GST.
Light Metro
The Council has also requested the State and Central governments to take appropriate steps to ensure the implementation of the Light Metro project in Kozhikode. JDS councillor Thomas Mathew presented the motion in which he pointed out that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation had closed its office in Kozhikode and three engineers had been decommissioned. He demanded that the step be repealed.
Earlier, the Council directed Additional Secretary K.P. Vinayan to take measures to ensure proper attendance of Corporation staff in various departments following complaints from various quarters that many officials did not keep the designated working hours.
Mr. Mathew had drawn the Council’s attention towards early departure and late-coming of some officials while IUML councillor U. Abdurahman pointed out that pending files were heaped on many tables.
The issue of disposal of sewage waste in public places was also brought up during the Council meeting. The Mayor pointed out that there were no means to track vehicles that carried waste as they often displayed fake registration numbers. He directed the Health Officer to tighten vigil over the issue.
Congress councillor P.M. Niyas demanded that the Corporation take steps to ensure supply of clean water in government hospitals in the backdrop of the recent incident in which rat remnants were found in drinking water at the Government General Hospital.
Health standing committee chairman K.V. Baburaj said the water samples had been sent to the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) for testing.
