PM favours waiving octroi, local taxes

New Delhi, Feb 4 (PTI) Admitting that inflation posed
a serious threat to the growth momentum affecting the poor and
vulnerable sections in India, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh on Friday favoured waiving mandi, octroi and local
taxes, which impede the smooth movement of essential
commodities.
Addressing chief secretaries of states, Singh said
that though the economy has been on a high growth trajectory
for the past few years, inflation posed a "serious threat to
the growth momentum".
"There seems to be a strong case for waiving mandi
taxes, octroi and local taxes, which impede the smooth
movement of essential commodities," he told the top
bureaucrats.
He said there was a need for a "paradigm shift" in the
institutional arrangements, for improving the availability of
various commodities to meet the higher levels of domestic
consumption.
Referring to the internal security situation, he said it
was "tense in some parts of our country".
He said there has been an unacceptably high level of
violence in areas affected by Left-wing extremism and in the
Kashmir Valley.
Singh also said that serious concern had been expressed
in many responsible circles about the "lack of ethical conduct
and probity in our public life".
The Prime Minister said though major anti-poverty
programmes have achieved considerable success, the "quality of
delivery of service has not been always as good as it could
be, as it should be".