Sops to Himachal, Uttaranchal will go after March 2007: CM

Chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy yesterday said that Union finance minister P Chidambaram assured him of limiting the central incentives being offered to Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal up to March, 2007.

Addressing a meeting after inaugurating the Hetero Drugs Limited's new generic manufacturing facility here on Thursday, the chief minister said that the Centre's tax incentives to Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal were hurting the interests of Andhra Pradesh with several companies, lured by the tax concessions, shifting their new plans to the two hill states.

"Yesterday, I once again brought this issue to the notice of the Union finance minister urging him to either withdraw the incentive package being offered to Himachal and Uttaranchal or extend to the rest of India at least 8 per cent excise duty exemption, which is half of what is being offered to the two states," he told the gathering.

"While ruling out any cut in tax revenues, Chidambaram assured that the existing special incentives to the two states would be limited to the next March," the chief minister added.