By Dr. Sanjay Chaturvedi, LLB, PhD.
You remember Bombay was established in BDD chawls and small cottages near textile mills? First textile mill was established in Mumbai to give a tough competition to British and Nylon and other materials were manufactured. The success story was replicated in Vasai Industrial zones where about 18 kms from National Highway till the Railway Station, entire zone witnessed unprecedented boom for Industrial corridor and Industrial estate.
Long back in Mumbai, we have killed the small industrial and manufacturing units from Industrial Estate by allowing Small offices and service sector take over the space in industrial estate. These Industries then went to Vasai, Murbad, Kalyan and Badlapur. Some of them have shifted to Palghar and on the Gujarat Maharashtra border because Real Estate Development just not taken toll on forest but also on manufacturing units. We have seen 56 NTC Mills and some private mills are been converted into entertainment hubs or commercial spaces if not integrated townships.
Now, Government of Maharashtra wants Local Body Tax to replace Octroi. Levy of Octroi would be scrapped in the Municipalities of Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nagpur, Pimpri-Chinchwad this year and the Local Body Tax (LBT) would be introduced, according to Prithviraj Chauhan, CM. We have seen a ghost town in offing in Vasai Industrial corridor because of this. Before an Industrial zone is established, the taxation have already started to kill the zone. Entrepreneurs are running away from such LBT becuase of various loop holes in the system. They say that License Raj is returning and we just cant afford to pay such high tax plus bribes to local inspectors and governance. The rates have fallen to as bad as rs.2300/- per sq.ft. for ready industrial gala having 100% carpet sale.
Not just employment but the cities are been killed every day because of such taxation. The latest example of Maharashtra Government’s intention is Industrial Policy declared on 1st January 2013. Converting SEZ’s zonal ratio to residential zones by allowing 70% of the SEZ to residential zones, Maharashtra Government have shown that how strong builder lobby is. But it forgot the role it has to play to provide employment to people. SEZ would have given 10 lakh jobs if not more and country would have earned extra foreign currency. If you can device the policies to your wimps and fancies, the future of industrial out put will be compared with lowest producing states in the country and not only that, we will kill “Bombays” in making before they take shape.