Govt. rapped for non-collection of kist arrears from arrack shop owners

By Our Staff Reporter

PONDICHERRY, SEPT. 21. In the course of question time, members of the ruling block in the Territorial Assembly on Friday vociferously protested arrack shop owners being allowed to remain defaulters, in paying the kist amount relating to their shops to the Department of Excise. Mr. V. Vaithilingam (Cong.) who raised the main question wanted to know the details of the amount due for 1996-97 and also the total amount generally due from arrack licencees.

The Chief Minister, Mr. P. Shanmugham, told the members that as on September 6 this year, Rs. 7.61 crores remained unpaid by the licencees. The total generally due for the department was Rs 15.96 crores till that date.

With the Chief Minister presenting details, a heated discussion took place involving the treasury benches and a section of the opposition. Mr. A. Anbalagan (AIADMK) kept asking for reasons as to how the government let the arrears accumulate.

The members of the Opposition belonging to the DMK said they would be only too glad if the government initiated action against defaulters and realised the outstanding amount.

Mr. Anbalagan alleged that there was a deliberate delay on the part of the authorities in realising the amount due in 1996-97. Mr. K. Lakshminarayanan (PMC) said proper policy was not adopted by the government that was in power prior to 1996 and the impact of the discrepancies continued that year.

The Speaker, Mr. M.D.R. Ramachandran, asked the Chief Minister to furnish details during discussions on demand relating to the department concerned. This brought back normality in the House which saw noisy scenes, with heated argument, allegations and counter-allegations.

Disconnection of power supply

The Chief Minister told the House that as there was default in payment of power tariff on the part of the NTC-run Sri Bharathi Mills here, electricity supply to the unit had been disconnected. He came out with this information as soon as Mr. A. Namasivayam (TMC) raised the issue and referred to the situation arising out of the disconnection of power supply with 500-odd workers facing hardship.

There were pleas from both the treasury and opposition blocks that the power supply be restored as it was a matter of workers` welfare. The chief Minister said arrears ran to several crores and he would have a talk with officials. However, he said whenever there were arrears due from industrial consumers, members wanted stern action and also sought speedy collection of arrears.The Speaker also said whenever arrears kept mounting, there was persistent demand from members for collection and publication of all details of defaulters. When action was taken, then members made remarks on severity of action and what could the government do in such situations he wondered.

Bus services

Mr. Anbalagan made out a strong case for bus services to link some of the interior pockets of Uppalam constituency within Pondicherry town limits that he represents. He said people in these areas were facing difficulty for want of bus services and wanted to know if the government-owned Transport and Tourism Development Corporation would operate services.

The Tourism and Education Minister, Mr. A. V. Subramanian, said the general position of the Corporation`s finances had to be taken into consideration. He said five permits for private operators were being studied.

Mr. Anbalagan said at least mini buses could be operated. If the Minister were to cite viability, there would be no need for the Corporation as such to function, the member said. The Speaker extended support to the plea of the member.

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