ONGOLE: Owners of small granite units in Prakasam and other districts have hailed the reintroduction of the slab system for collection of seigniorage fee on granite blocks consumed at processing units. The State government issued GO 58 on Tuesday, reintroducing the slab system for collection of seigniorage fee on granite blocks.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced this at a public meeting held at Chimakurthy on Wednesday to mark the unveiling of bronze statues of former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy and former Darsi MLA Buchepalli Subba Reddy.
The slab system will give a big relief to small scale granite units (stone cutting and polishing) across the State. The change in seigniorage fee collection will increase the volume of business of granite units. The government has reintroduced the slab system after receiving several representations from the owners of small scale granite (processing and polishing) units through former minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy and former MLA Buchepalli Siva prasad Reddy. The new GO is set to benefit 7,000 small granite units and nearly 2 lakh workers and employees of the granite industry.
“The Chief Minister has fulfilled our wish by issuing GO 58. With the decision, Jagan has given a new lease of life to the granite industry, which has been facing crisis for quite a long time,” Krishtipati Sekhar Reddy, president of the Prakasam District Small Scale Granite Factory Owners Association, told TNIE.The Rs 2 per unit reduction in electricity bill for both HT and LT connections will also be a big boost to the industry, especially for small scale granite units, he said.
“With the new slab system, we are going to get Rs 9 to Rs 10 benefit for a feet of granite block. In addition to this, the Chief Minister has announced a decrease of Rs 2 per unit on the present power tariff for both HT and LT connections, which also makes a big difference for the small scale granite units,” said D Rami Reddy, proprietor of Sri Venkata Sai Granites, Chimakurthy. A few other granite unit owners from Chimakurthy and its surrounding places also expressed their happiness over the reintroduction of the slab system.
Even workers and staff of many granite units also welcomed the new GO. Surender Nayak (26) and Ashuboshu (30) from Rajasthan and Odisha, who work in granite units, opined that the new slab system will revive the granite industry.
“The new GO will help increase the business turnover of the granite industry, resulting in generation of more employment and payment of better wages to workers,” said Rathore, a granite cutting saw technician from Rajasthan.