Sharp jump in IT mop-up in Orissa

If collection of income tax is seen as a index of development, then Orissa seems to be shining.

The income tax department has made a record of sorts by posting the highest ever growth in collection of direct taxes in the state.

The collections by March end at Rs 1400 crore in 2003-04 was up by 50 per cent from Rs 942 crore in the previous year.

The state stands a close second in the country next to Karnataka in terms of rate of growth, while in volume terms, it has taken a leap from previous year's second last to the eleventh slot this year.

According to IT department sources, this is a remarkable achievement for a state like Orissa which was nowhere in the IT map of the country. The collection of direct taxes in the state over the last few years was hovering around Rs 800 crore.

Orissa now ranks with Uttar Pradesh, above Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar and Jharkhand put together and the north-eastern states in volume of taxes and not too far behind West Bengal.

Sources attribute this hefty growth in IT collection to the good performance of the mineral based industry in the state. "The main stay of Orissa's economy is mineral based industry.

There was a windfall in the income of these industries, particularly relating to steel and chrome, in the last fiscal which has contributed massively to the jump in IT collection", pointed out a IT official.