After the Assam government came under fire over its decision to levy a fee on citizen-centric services including a charge of Rs 300 for processing the permission to organize Bihu, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has come out and defended the decision.
Taking to X on Wednesday, the Assam CM said pointed out that the government has allocated Rs 50 crores for organizing traditional cultural festivals this year.
CM Sarma further said that Bihu committees receive Rs 1.5 lakh from the government. In return, if a minor fee is levied on processing a permission for the state exchequer, then it should not attract criticism from the public, he added.
The Assam CM wrote, "If we charge Rs 300 for processing a permission, it is important to note that we are allocating nearly 50 crore this year for organizing our traditional cultural festivals. For instance, if a Bihu committee receives 1.5 lacs from the government, it is unlikely that anyone would criticize us for collecting Rs 300 for the state exchequer."
The chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma also upheld the government's commitment to preserve and promote the culture of Assam, stating that it was of utmost importance.
He announced that starting this year, a financial grant of Rs 25,000 each at 3,000 locations will be provided by the Assam government to support the celebration of Raas festival.
"Our commitment to preserving and promoting our culture is of utmost importance. Starting this year, we will be providing a financial grant of Rs 25,000 for celebrating the Rass Festival in 3,000 locations. This initiative aims to support and encourage the celebration of this traditional festival across our region," the Assam CM wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Assam cabinet minister Jayanta Mallabaruah addressed a presser today during which he clarified that the charge being levied is in fact, not a service tax, but a fee, saying that the government has decided to charge the public in exchange for rendering certain citizen-centric services.
During the press conference, Jayanta Mallabaruah highlighted that the public is being misled by false narratives calling this fee a service tax. He said, "There is a difference between service tax and fee. The government decided to levy a fee for certain services and this should not be taken as a tax. The public is being misled by false narratives."
"The government is providing financial assistance for organizing festivals like Bihu and Raas. In such a case, why will the government levy a tax?," asked the minister for tourism, public health engineering, skill development employment and entrepreneurship in Assam.
Speaking further, he said, "This is just a nominal fee that will have to be paid to avail the citizen-centric services available on Sewa Setu portal."
"Some political rivals are spreading this false narrative. If the public has any objection, they can it up on the portal itself. The government has previously taken such kind of a fee. The state government will not be able to add huge sums to the exchequer with this fee. If this decision requires a revisit, then we are also ready to look into that," added Jayanta Mallabaruah.
