Shivraj hints at imposing Covid tax on liquor
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday indicated to impose corona tax on sale of liquor in the state to mop up additional revenue.
Chouhan said he would soon convene a meeting of offices concerned to finalise the amount of the tax to be imposed.
He was addressing a high-level meeting here to revive industries in the state post-lockdown.
The resource-starved MP government has suffered loss of revenue to the tune of `1,800 crore following the nationwide lockdown.
The state government was currently struggling to mobilise revenues to fight the pandemic which claimed lives of 209 people in the state so far.
States like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh have already imposed tax on sale of liquor.
Sources said the state government was mulling to introduce tax on sale of liquor to make up the loss of revenues.
Interestingly, the liquor contractors in the state have recently moved the MP high court demanding waiver of excise duty by the state government on sale of liquor to compensate losses suffered by them due to suspension of their business during the lockdown.
They had earlier refused to open their shops unless their demands were met by the state government.
However, they resumed their business on May 5 after being assured by the state government to consider their demands as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh has reported fresh 74 positive cases taking the tally of confirmed cases to 3,415.
Meanwhile, Opposition Congress on Saturday raised questions on role of a seven-member-high level committee constituted by Madhya Pradesh government to facilitate smooth return of migrant workers to their homes from other states.
Veteran Congress leader and former chief minister Digvijay Singh on Saturday claimed that calls to mobile number of a member of the committee by migrant workers for two days went unasnswered, forcing labourers to walk to their villages in MP from Maharashtra leading to the tragic incident in which 16 workers were mowed down by a goods train near Karmad railway station in Aurangabad district.