The Puducherry Traders Federation has urged the government to immediately constitute a welfare board for traders in the Union Territory and announce it in the budget session beginning from March 11.
Addressing a press conference, M. Sivasankaran, president of Puducherry Traders Federation and S. Balou, general secretary, said the government had promised during the first traders conference in February last year that a Welfare Board would be set up.
However, nothing had been done since then and traders were keenly awaiting implementation of the promise in the forthcoming budget session.
Similar to Kerala
The PTF said that the welfare board should be modelled on Traders Welfare Board in Kerala and cover accidental insurance, higher education loan for wards of traders and pension among others.
In a long wish-list to the government, the PTF has also demanded the immediate implementation of the Loading and Unloading Act in the Union Territory to prevent extortion and goondaism. The practice was still prevalent and it had not come down.
Regulating banners
Mr. Balou said that the government had failed to strictly enforce the rules on erection of banners. The government could announce new regulations for installation of banners and cut outs in public places.
Political activists and public organisations installing banners should avail of prior permission from the local bodies and pay a fee for installing them. This would bring in more revenue to the local bodies.
Online trading
The Federation also urged the government to regulate online trading which was eating into government revenue. Online traders indulged in unfair trade practices to lure the customers often by quoting a false maximum market price. The government should emulate Kerala and fine e-commerce enterprises for their impact on the revenue.
Mr. Balou said the Federation had submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Ministry seeking a CBI probe into the murder of a pawnbroker here on April last year. The police have not been able to arrest the culprits nearly a year after the murder occurred.
We will file a petition in the court seeking transfer of the probe to the CBI, he said.
