Jamshedpur traders call off agitation after Jharkhand Minister assures to revoke Mandi Tax Bill

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, May 20: City traders here called off the ongoing agitation against Mandi tax on Friday after State rural development minister Alamgir Alam assured them of revoking the proposed Bill concerned in this regard in the state Assembly.

Speaking to a delegation of traders, the state Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon and state Agriculture Minister Badal Patralekh said the Bill on imposing two per cent agriculture market tax would not be presented in the Jharkhand Assembly in the next session. They appealed to the traders of the state to call off their ongoing agitation and revoke the decision to order food-grain consignments. They said the food-grain trade should not be affected, sources said.

Jharkhand government had passed a Bill to charge two per cent market tax on Krishi Utpadan Bazar Samiti (agriculture production market committee) on 24^th March last and sent it to the Jharkhand Governor for getting it passed.

According to food-grain traders, passing of the Mandi tax Bill was devoid of practical considerations and that it would have promoted Inspector Raj, corruption and inflation in the state. Members of various trade organizations including the Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) had joined hands to oppose the Bill and had demanded scrapping of the new Bill.

SCCI had first raised the issue and had convened a meeting of traders from across the three districts of Kolhan to discuss protest strategy. A delegation of SCCI functionaries led by SCCI president Vijay Anand Moonka had met the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary and secretaries of various departments and apprised them of the drawbacks of the Mandi tax Bill. The traders had demanded revocation of the Bill in the larger interest of their community. They had planned a series of agitation programmes to put pressure on the state government to do away with the Bill.

Moonka today congratulated all traders for their successful endeavour and stressed on maintaining their unity.