‘Uttarakhand faced loss of around Rs 4,000 cr during lockdown’: Govt committee

 17-12-2020

 A committee formed by the Uttarakhand government to ascertain losses faced by the state government during the Covid-19 lockdown period has revealed that the state had to bear losses around Rs 4,000 crores.

The committee, headed by cabinet minister Subodh Uniyal, is preparing a report about the different types of losses borne by the state and will soon be submitting it to the higher authorities.

“We have learnt from the finance department that the state government has faced direct losses of approximately Rs 4,000 crores during the lockdown period (March-end till June), but maximum part of this amount is being covered by the compensation being given by the Centre for Goods and Services Tax. The collection from GST amounts to over Rs 2,000 crores,” said Uniyal.

Uttarakhand has six major sources of revenue generation which includes earnings through GST which amounts to around 60 per cent of monthly revenue. The other sources are excise (around Rs 250-300 crores per month), vehicle registration (Rs 100-150 crores per month), vehicle tax (Rs 80-90 crores per month), mining activities (Rs 50-60 crores per month), revenue from forests (Rs 40-50 crores per month).

He added that the state also faced many indirect losses, the amount for which is being calculated.

“Due to the lockdown, the state government gave many relief measures to the tourism sector, registered labourers, started various employment schemes; these can be considered as indirect losses, which would not have happened otherwise. These would also amount to something between Rs 500-Rs 1000 crores,” added Uniyal.

Based on the findings of the report, the committee is now working to give suggestions to the state government on how to turn crisis into opportunity in the state, the method followed by the state during the Unlock process.

The minister further said that the agriculture sector in the state did not face much loss during the lockdown as alternative methods of livelihood like honey rearing, cash crop cultivation were adopted.

www.hindustantimes.com