In a relief for consumers of domestic piped CNG as well as vehicle owners, the deputy chief minister and finance minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar on Friday proposed a drastic cut in the Value Added Tax (VAT) on natural gas from 13.5 percent to 3 percent.
Pawar, who presented the state Budget in the Assembly on Friday, said the reduction would cause a revenue loss of Rs 800 crore annually. "Natural gas is environment-friendly and is largely used for domestic piped gas supply and also for CNG-powered motor vehicles, auto-rickshaws, taxis and private vehicles," the minister said.
The budget also aimed to strengthen water transport in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) with a proposed expenditure of Rs 350 crore in order to reduce the burden on the suburban rail network and roads. The deputy chief minister said the state government intended to connect Vasai, Bhayander, Dombivali, Kalyan, Vashi, Airoli, Thane and Belapur in MMR by water transport.
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Pawar also announced that a sprawling `Medicity' offering all kinds of treatments at one place would come up near Pune. To be called `Indrayani Medicity', it would be spread on 300 acres of land and would have hospitals, medical research centres, pharmaceutical manufacturing units as well as wellness and physiotherapy clinics, he said, adding that it would be the first medical colony in the country to have all the treatments available in one place.
A finance department official said that there were similar medical hubs elsewhere in the country, but they were privately-operated, while this would be a state-run hub.
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