Govt clips wings of traders’ welfare board officials

The step has been taken following complaints against the conduct of some board officials and office-bearers

LUCKNOW: The state government has banned the UP Traders’ Welfare Board officials and members from engaging in direct correspondence with divisional commissioners, district magistrates (DMs) and departmental officials for any action, according to a circular issued here.

The step has been taken following complaints against the conduct of some board officials and bearers, those aware of the matter said.

The circular issued in this regard by additional chief secretary, commercial tax, Alok Sinha has asked government officials to return letters ‘as they were’, if received from board members and officials, without taking any action on them.

“There has been taken a considered decision at the competent level that the UP Traders’ Welfare Board officials and members will not at all forward any letter in their capacity as an official or member of a the board to divisional commissioners/DMs and departmental officials for any action,” the circular said.

“Directions, in this regard, must be enforced strictly. No cognizance should be taken of such letters sent directly and must be returned in their original form,” the circular added.

The board’s role, the government has stressed, is primarily that of an advisory nature and it can advise the government from time to time on issues pertaining to the welfare of traders, plugging tax evasion and enhancing revenue collection after discussing the same at its meetings. But members and officials cannot ask any official for any action in their individual capacity.

The Yogi Adityanath government set up the UP Traders’ Welfare Board, comprising 11 members and three vice-chairpersons apart from a chairman, on December 28, 2018 with the mandate to hold its meeting at least every three months to discuss relevant issues and send its recommendation to the government for necessary action.

The board’s members can also participate in district-level official meetings in the districts assigned to them.

People aware of the issue said the CM’s office was receiving complaints that a few of the members and officials of the board directly wrote letters to officials seeking undue favours for themselves or for others.

“This is what prompted the government to prohibit them from writing to commissioners, DMs,” commercial tax department officials said.

Former minister and board chairman Ravikant Garg said he was yet to see the government’s directives banning members from engaging in a direct correspondence with commissioners, DMs etc.

“But I see nothing wrong with the circular because it is for the board, and not for individual members, to forward letters,” he said.

“The government might have received complaints about some members misusing their position,” he added.

One of the board’s vice chairmen had illegally nominated some individuals as members of the district-level traders’ welfare committees in districts like Kanpur, Moradabad, Mahoba, Chitrakoot and Jhansi, apart from writing a letter to all DMs, commissioners and SPs/police commissioners, in the same connection.

“The government has cancelled all such nominations and informed the concerned through a letter issued on August 19,” sources said.

The district-level welfare committees were set up by the home department in March this year for the disposal of problems of traders and investors.

“The government has quashed the very notification under which the committees had been set up,” they said.