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Centre silent on GST relief
The reluctance of the Centre to exempt Mission Bhagiratha from the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) provisions is perplexing the Telangana Government. The Telangana Government has repeatedly sought exemption for the same keeping in view the objectives of the ambitious project.
GST blow to cost 600 cr extra to the prestigious water project
New Delhi: The reluctance of the Centre to exempt Mission Bhagiratha from the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) provisions is perplexing the Telangana Government. The Telangana Government has repeatedly sought exemption for the same keeping in view the objectives of the ambitious project.
A state government estimate reveals that Mission Bhagiratha would incur an additional burden of Rs 600 crore as several components of the project, such as pipes, ball valves, couplings, bends, tees, elbows, pillar taps and globe taps, would cost 5 per cent to 8 per cent more post GST.
Mission Bhagiratha is a unique water grid under execution in Telangana with an outlay of Rs 40,000 crore which plans to extend drinking water through taps to every household in 25,000 rural habitations and 67 urban habitations. Such a plan, the Centre is very well aware of has never been conceived nor executed in India by any state and hence has become a case study for several state governments and also a few foreign countries.
In fact, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who laid the foundation stone for the Mission. One would have expected the Modi-led NDA government to not only extend all help for the completion of the project but also implement it throughout the country. However, even in exempting GST for the same is not being considered seriously.
Officials in Delhi refuse to comment on the GST exemption and only say that "it is up to the GST Council".
The material component of the project is said to be Rs 24,000 crore and more than half of the works are over by now. The material component due still is said to be a little above Rs 10,000 crore of works.
IT Minister of Telangana K T Rama Rao reportedly highlighted the same to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley the other day to impress upon him the need to give relief to the material used in the project.
Explaining to him that there was excise duty exemption on water supply pipes of certain diameter and other materials used in the project, he also added that the exemption would be benefiting the local bodies involved in the project.
KTR also explained the details of length of pipes and so on to the Union Minister and how the entire project would impact the population in the urban and rural habitations.
KTR further explained that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was committed to provide 100 litres of clean drinking water per head in rural areas and 150 litres in the urban households.
