The Hindu: Bhubaneshwar: Sunday, April 5, 2015.
The Odisha Government has been approaching different companies with a begging bowl for paltry assistance, while it has failed to collect tax dues which run into thousands of crores from these companies, Right to Information activists alleged here on Saturday.
“As many as 129 Odisha-based companies, both private and government, have not paid water cess to the tune of Rs. 6,000 crore from 2000 to 2014,” said activist Pradip Pradhan, who obtained the information through the RTI Act.
Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Pradhan said if interest on total water cess is calculated, total loss to the State exchequer will touch Rs. 10,000 crore-mark.
“During this 14-year-period, only 13 out of 129 companies have secured a stay order from the Orissa High Court challenging increased water tax imposed by the State government. We, however, failed to understand who stopped the government authorities from collecting tax dues from the rest of the 116 companies,” he charged.
According to RTI information circulated by activists, big central public sector units including National Aluminum Company Limited, NTPC Limited, Indian Railways and Mahanadi Coalfields Limited have not paid water tax.
Similarly, names of industry leaders in private sectors such as Reliance Industries, Tata Group, Vedanta Group and Jindal Steel and Power Limited figured in the defaulters’ list.
State-owned public sector units such as Odisha Hydro Power Corporation and Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation did not pay tax in spite of using the water resources.
Mr. Pradhan said, “The piece of information assumes significance as the Naveen Patnaik government recently sought annual contribution from corporate social responsibility funds of many defaulting companies to support its Aahar programme in which the urban poor are being provided food at Rs. 5 per meal.”
“Had the companies been taken to task for not paying tax, the financial position of the State government would have been in a much better position. But we believe the government is very soft on defaulting industries,” said Sudarshan Chhotray, another activist.
Mr. Chhotray said, “The government has made a mockery of different food programmes. For the Rs. 5 per meal programme, the government is actually spending Rs. 26.50 per meal whereas children who are entitled to more proteinous food, are getting Rs. 4.06 per meal. More than 2 lakh elderly beneficiaries in KBK districts have not been provided emergency feeding due to want of funds, whereas companies have been let off the hook.” ‘Water tax not collected from 116 out of 129 companies’
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