In a memorandum submitted to Patel, Gajera mentioned the diamond workers do laborious task and earn Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 monthly salary and professional tax was a burden on them. (File photo)

Representatives from the diamond industry on Tuesday met Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and requested him to abolish professional tax on diamond polishers, collected from diamond factory owners by the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC).

A delegation led by Surat Diamond Workers’ Association president Jaysukh Gajera, accompanied by 15 diamond factory owners of Surat, met the deputy CM. As per the association, there are over 6 lakh diamond polishers working in different small, medium and big diamond factories in Surat city and SMC collects professional tax from the factory owners regularly.

In a memorandum submitted to Patel, Gajera mentioned the diamond workers do laborious task and earn Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 monthly salary and professional tax was a burden on them. It was demanded the professional tax on diamond workers be abolished the same way it was done for construction labourers. The owner pays the tax to SMC and deduct it from the salary of the workers. The owners suffer a great loss this way, the memorandum said.

Talking to The Indian Express, Gajera said, “The deputy CM assured us that he would take up the issue with Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. We have plans to make representations to the CM with the help of local BJP MLAs.”