Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has given strict instructions to the Income Tax Department to work for the welfare of the general public. He told the officers not to make the common people go from one office to another for their work. Sitharaman had arrived on Sunday, July 26 to inaugurate the 13-storey ‘Aaykar Sindhu’ building in Mumbai’s Nariman Point business district. During this time he has said these things. Giving the example of clearance of a 13-storey building, the Finance Minister, while sharing his experience during the inauguration ceremony, said that the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officials themselves had to work hard for the construction and permissions i.e. clearance of this 13-storey building built in 1.13 lakh square feet. Sitharaman reminded the officials that the name of an IRS officer has the name of the Income Tax Department attached to it, which acts as a powerful force to scare people. He said that when despite having such a powerful body, the officers themselves had to run from pillar to post to get permissions, then they should understand what kind of problems a common citizen has to go through. The Finance Minister said, can this experience inspire you to understand the situation of the common citizen who comes to you? Do not lead them astray where your authority is needed; Work for them. Expressed displeasure over illegal occupation of government lands, the Finance Minister publicly expressed deep disappointment over the lax attitude of government departments. He said that it is due to the laxity of the departments that illegal occupation and encroachment on government lands takes place. Sitharaman said that the land located at Nariman Point on which the ‘Aaykar Sindhu’ building has been built was present with the Income Tax Department since 1973. Despite this, over the years that land has been illegally encroached upon. He said that it was someone’s responsibility to take care of our property, but when encroachment occurs, we just say that we have the land but we are not able to build it. This shows how lax our system is. The Finance Minister also expressed concern over the problem of officials not living in government accommodation in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai areas and having to travel long distances to reach their offices. He indicated that almost half of the officers do not get the facility of government accommodation. Sitharaman promised that she would look into the issue and give priority to government-to-government land transfer. She assured that she will make the process of instant transfer of lands easier. Giving instructions regarding the land of CPWD and BSNL, the Union Minister made it clear that after helping in transfer of land, the officials themselves will have to complete the construction related work on time. This includes dealing with CPWD (Central Public Works Department), obtaining permissions, constructing buildings and allotting contracts and tenders. He said that all these works should be completed as soon as possible so that in the second half of the 21st century one does not have to live in scattered office spaces and expensive rented houses. Sitharaman specifically mentioned the government telecom company BSNL and asked the officials to try to acquire the lands of BSNL. For this she herself will talk to the concerned Union Minister. Advised officers to maintain ‘integrity’ The Finance Minister said that she is not asking officers to break rules or do anything out-of-the-way for common citizens. However, he expressed regret that in this country people have to work very hard to get their legitimate rights and claims. Underlining the importance of honesty in an important task like tax collection for the country, Sitharaman said that integrity and honesty is the only principle which I would advise each one of you. Also read this news… Market-cap of 9 companies in top-10 decreased by ₹ 2.74 lakh crore: HDFC Bank was the top loser, value decreased by ₹ 1.18 lakh crore; HUL’s value increased amid the declining trend in the stock market. Last week, there was a total decline of more than ₹ 2.74 lakh crore in the market capitalization of 9 out of the top 10 most valuable companies of the country. HDFC Bank suffered the biggest loss in this decline. During the week, the Sensex fell 2,091.68 points (2.67%), while the Nifty declined 566.85 points (2.32%). Hindustan Unilever was the only company in the top-10 list whose valuation has increased in the last week. Read the full news….
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