Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday ridiculed conferment of the Best Administrator award to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik even though there was an administrative failure in checking mines loot worth Rs 59,000 crore in Odisha.
“Recently, the Supreme Court had pointed out that mines loot was rampant in Odisha in which the State Government had an important role. The State Government has also revealed that minerals worth Rs 59,000 crore were looted and issued notices to companies for recovery. When it all says that there was administrative failure in checking loots, it is not understood how the Chief Minister was given the best administrator award,” Pradhan said while inaugurating a seminar, “Goods and Services Tax-A new era” organised by the Bhubaneswar Chapter of the Institute of the Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) here on Sunday.
Pradhan said the GST would create a new business atmosphere with a unique tax system under which companies can’t cheat the Governments.
He called upon the Company Secretaries to help in implementation of the GST and in making Odisha youths entrepreneurs.
“After execution of GST, companies will come to consumer-rich Odisha to do business and participate in manufacture sector. Hence a good business atmosphere should be created in Odisha so that it can get a main place in the country’s economy map in coming days,” he said.
ICSI President Dr Shaym Agrawal in his address said the GST would help in economic growth of the country.
Among others, Bhubaneswar Chapter chairman Priyadarahi Nayak, secretary and treasurer Rajendra Kumar Kar and EIRC Regional Council member Sunita Mohanty spoke.
The seminar was followed with two technical sessions wherein PKM law Chambers advisor PK Mittal, GST dost.com, Kolkata founder Vikash Dhanania, Manoj Agrawal, A Acharya and JB Das placed their views.