Chief Minister Harish Rawat has appealed to the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to exempt the 2013 disaster- affected people from service tax payment and payment of interest on bank loans. “As such people lost their livelihood following the disaster it is an imperative that they are provided with immediate relief and waiving off service tax and interest on bank loans they are liable to pay would be good steps to lessen their suffering,” he said.He said the Centre should waive off interest on banks loans for three financial years- 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 – to enable the affected to be resettled in their professions.
“June 2013 disaster had devastated the state with Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Bageshwar and Pithoragarh districts bearing the maximum brunt of the deluge. In these five districts, the people were almost reduced to destitution as they lost their business, hotels, buildings, shops and agricultural lands. To provide them with succor, the state government launched a slew of welfare schemes despite its limited resources. The reconstruction and rehabilitation projects take time to be completed. However, they must be helped as far as their livelihood is concerned. The Centre must step in,” CM said.
Referring to Char Dham Yatra, he said they can hardly ignore tourism. “It is the fulcrum on which the state’s economy is based. To ensure a steady flow of tourists and pilgrims, we stressed on the yatra. We are aware of the impediments we must face on this count. However, things look good. We are confident that the number of tourists and pilgrims would be the same in next two years as the pre-2013 deluge figure. Things would be restored to normalcy as far as the livelihood of the affected people is concerned in the next three to four years,” CM said.