Jharkhand to pass state GST law

Jharkhand to pass state GST law

Jharkhand may soon become one of the first states to clear the state Goods and Services Tax law following Parliament’s clearance(अनुमति) of the four central laws necessary to implement GST from this July, Chief Secretary Rajbala Varma told The Hindu. “We were the second state after Assam to agree to GST. We will call a special session to pass the state GST law,” Ms. Varma said adding that the Jharkhand administration was ready for the Goods and Services Tax regime(शासन) . The legislative assemblies of all state governments need to pass the state GST law in order to switch over from the current system of levying multiple indirect taxes at the state and the Central level.

Arcelor Mittal

The mineral-rich state expects to receive mining and mining-related investments of ₹2 lakh crore. “They are capital intensive projects such as a power plant with coal linkages, a steel plant with iron ore linked to it. The chief minister is very keen on labour-intensive sectors to check the high migration (प्रवासन) of our people,” Ms. Varma said. 

However, a marquee ₹50,000 crore investment for a 12 million tonne steel plant proposed by Arcelor Mittal in 2005 remains stuck.

Ms. Varma said that the long-delayed (विलंबित) project is still a work in progress and has not been abandoned despite the inability to execute leases for the iron ore mine earlier allotted to the firm. The firm which has acquired a part of the land for the project can still secure iron ore linkages by tying up with those who win mining rights under the new auction regime for mineral reserves, she pointed out.

“We are still in active talks with the company. The proposal is very much on. They have been allocated an iron ore mine, but the lease has not been executed (निष्पादित) as the forest clearance is not yet in. Now, there will be mineral auctions so iron ore will be in the market so whoever gets it can supply (to them). They can have a linkage,” Ms. Varma said.

Though the proposed mine is located in Jharkhand’s Saranda forest, the thickest Sal forest in Asia with an elephant corridor, it doesn’t fall in the ‘No Go’ area, the top state government official said. “Only about 7% of the forest area has minerals and the ‘no go’ area is limited,” she said.

Tackling Maoists

Ms Varma said that the Maoist menace in the state will be history by the end of the year and investors are no longer concerned about the state’s law and order situation.

“Our surrender policy is very good – we have an open jail, where they can stay with their family. On the fringes, perhaps some possibility (of Left-Wing extremist activity) is there, but our forces are working very hard to curb that,” she said.

“There are 13 areas such as Kunda and Pratappur and we have set up camps everywhere. I have been visiting all these areas and going to each door there. So if there is an able-bodied boy looking for a job, dropouts from school, we are getting them into school, looking into their economic issues, holding health camps,” said Ms. Varma.

State investment board

Ranked high on the Centre’s ease of doing business index, the state scored the highest marks for labour reforms across all states and is ranked fifth in terms of attractiveness for foreign direct investment or FDI. It has also set up an Investment Promotion Board led by the Chief Minister that includes representatives from all departments, including environment and pollution control authorities.

“The CM wants ownership and equal stake of all the departments and he does not want any red-tapism in clearances. We are the most investment ready state and have included all stakeholders on the Board to ensure no issue comes up and it becomes a collective decision with ownership. Till there is no sense of ownership, you know how file movement becomes,” Ms. Varma said.

Weekly meetings

Apart from a monthly meeting steered by the CM for investment projects, the chief secretary holds a meeting every week to resolve issues that come up. Several of the investors that signed pacts with the state in an investment summit in February have already seen the land parcels on which their projects can come up, she said.

ABOUT Jharkhand is a state

Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It's known for its waterfalls, the elegant Jain temples of Parasnath Hill and the elephants and tigers of Betla National Park. The state capital of Ranchi is a gateway to the park. It features the 17th-century Jagannath Temple, a Hindu shrine and the Jharkhand War Memorial. Tagore Hill is a monument honoring Nobel Prize-winning author Rabindranath Tagore.

Capital: Ranchi

Largest city: Jamshedpur

Second language: Urdu; Santhali; Bengali; Ho; Oriya; Mundari; Kurukh; Kurmali; Khortha; Kharia; Nagpuri

HDI rank: 19th (2007-08)