Perturbed over the imposition of peak load restrictions on industries, Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Industries Association (BBNIA) today urged the government to review the draft of the peak load exemption and value-added tax policies, in the interest of the entrepreneurs in the state.

The industrial bodies urged the government to give relaxation in the rule to provide at least 70 per cent jobs to in the industrial sector to persons of Himachal domicile. It also demanded six-laning of the Pinjore-Baddi-Nalagarh road.

The industrialists also took up other issues like construction of a railway line to Baddi, extending Jan-Satabadi Express up to Una from Nangal, and construction of the Chandigarh-Kala Amb-Paonta-Dehradun railway line on priority.

In a meeting presided over by Chief Secretary Asha Swaroop at Baddi today, the office bearers of CII and BBNIA including Rajender Guleria, Arun Rawat and Alok Sharma, urged that the draft Peak Load Exemption Policy should be reviewed. They demanded that electricity should be supplied to industry on continuous workload.

The meeting was attended by Secretary Public Works Department, Chairman State Electricity Board RK Jain, Principal Secretary Industries Subash Negi and officers of various departments. The representatives of CII and BBNIA demanded removal of VAT difference on various products, and bringing it at par with other states. These products included furnace oil, diesel, water storage tanks, laundry soap and others.

The associations demanded that since the textile industries is facing a crisis, additional goods tax should be waived on yarn at least for three years. Amnesty policy should also be framed for old units which could not produce Form C or F, as had already been done by Punjab and Karnataka governments.

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