Representatives of Pimpri industry associations meet civic chief, seek better infra, tax holiday

Sandeep Belsare, president of the Small and Medium Scale Industries Association, said the meeting was arranged after the delegation had met the personal secretary of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday. Accordingly, the civic chief called for a meeting with industry associations to understand their long-pending demands and to work out a solution about it.

One of the main demands from the association was a tax holiday from paying property tax for the financial year 2020-21. According to the association, this was necessary in view of the severe economic losses faced by industries during the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns.

Patil said the civic body has sent a proposal for either a waiver or extension of deadline to pay taxes to the state government, which is under consideration. Similarly, the association has asked for waiver in penalties for delayed payment, which the civic body has also forwarded to the state government.

Given the high land rates in industrial zones, many small-scale industries have not been able to afford land there and instead have set up small units in and around these areas. The association has demanded that these units be regularised, to which the civic chief said units which adhere to all norms would be regularised.

The meeting was also attended by Abhay Bhor, president of the Forum for Small Scale Industries. who drew attention to the lack of basic civic amenities in the area. Most of the workers in the sector commute by bus but the industrial areas do not even have a proper bus stand or a toilet for women. Internal transport is also difficult as buses do not ply inside the industrial area.

While the Forum had started an e-rickshaw service for internal roads, the service failed to take off as there were no designated rickshaw stands. Bhor also drew attention of the civic chief to the lack of proper garbage collection system and sewage lines in the area.