Supporting Dimapur Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s (DCCI) call for a total shutdown of all shops and business establishments on September 16, Nagaland Medicine Dealers’ Association (NMDA) has also announced closure of all pharmacies and medical business establishments in Dimapur on September 16.
The shutdown call is in protest against the State government’s alleged inaction against multiple and illegal taxation by various groups.
NMDA in a press release further warned that it would be compelled to take its own course of action by shutting down all its outlets indefinitely if the government did not take appropriate action.
Meanwhile, the Nagaland Medicine Dealers’ Association has also requested the state power department to take necessary steps in improving the electricity supply in the town as most of life-saving drugs and vaccines should be kept in refrigerators.
The association further pointed out that due to power failure, storing and maintaining these life-saving medicines as per protocols had become difficult.
“Due to power failure it has become strenuous to store and maintain necessary obligations of these life saving medicines,” NMDA stated.
Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation (NVCO) has announced its support to Dimapur Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s (DCCI) call for total closure of shops and business establishments on September 16 against rampant, multiple and illegal taxation by various groups and government agencies.
Claiming that multiple taxation was at the root of price rise in the market and mentioning that consumers have realised this, NVCO president Kezhokhoto Savi in a statement maintained that the consumers cannot remain a silent spectator over this. He regretted that though the weaker section of the society has been hit more badly, especially due to Covid-19 pandemic, State government agencies failed to maintain prices in the market and barely applied the Essential Commodities Act.
Blaming the State government for failing to control the rampant, multiple and illegal taxation, especially upon transporters and business community, the NVCO specifically asked the chief secretary and DGP to respond to this menace.
NVCO pointed out that noted human rights activist Radhakanta Tripathy had even filed a petition before National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) alleging that people of Nagaland had to pay taxes to the parallel government run by five insurgent groups — NSCN (I-M), GPRN/NSCN, NSCN(K) and the two factions of Naga National Council (NNC)– apart from paying the government taxes.
He said Tripathy had mentioned that people of Nagaland were forced to pay multiple taxes to underground groups and extortion on commercial vehicles went unchecked along highways and at check-gates.
Following this, chief secretary and DGP Nagaland informed NHRC that all possible efforts were being made to curb the illegal activities of insurgents.
Subsequently, several trade bodies, including Confederation of Nagaland Chamber of Commerce &Industry (CNCCI), DCCI and Mokokchung Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) came out strongly with a demand that all Naga political groups(NPGs) should immediately refrain from such multiple taxation and asked the State government to immediately curb all such multiple taxation.
But, considering the hardships faced by trade bodies, Savi questioned the chief secretary and DGP’s claim before NHRC that all possible efforts were being made to curb the illegal activities of insurgents, especially when several trade bodies were still demanding a check on illegal activities of insurgents in the State.
According to the NVCO president, illegal multiple taxes and threats by insurgents, coupled with inaction of the government, amounted to denial of the right to life.
He maintained that the mushrooming of such illegal collections by all and sundry, including the police and government agencies, had contributed to price rise in the State. He claimed that trucks had refused to enter Nagaland on several occasionsdue to numerous illegal tax counters where the truck drivers were stopped and forced to pay.
NVCO said it had submitted several representations to the State government to execute the Gauhati High Court’s order of June 3, 2014 that barred all illegal cash collections at the check gates and highways.
It also reminded the government of its June 6, 2009 order which specified that henceforth no collection of taxes would be made by any organisation or individuals, including government departmentslike the police, excise, forest and taxes etc, and that no collection of cash would be allowed at the check-gates or in any part of the highway.
