BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday urged the Centre to withdraw GST on kendu leaf in the interest of the livelihoods of over eight lakh workers, binders and seasonal workers.Barely three days after announcing a special package for them, the chief minister raised the issue in a letter to the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and said that imposition of 18 per cent GST on kendu leaf is adversely affecting the trade. As a result, it affects the livelihoods of kendu leaf pluckers, binders and seasonal workers and the implementation of social security and welfare schemes for them,” the CM said in the letter.
The chief minister said kendu leaf, a minor forest produce (MFP), is the financial backbone of these poor people engaged in the trade mostly belonging to the tribal community and poorest of the poor of the society. He said tribals collect the leaves as part of their right defined under the Scheduled Tribals and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. “They have the rights to procure and sell these products,” he added.
The Opposition BJP, however, described the chief minister’s move as politically motivated and aimed at wooing the tribals of Padampur assembly constituency where by-election will be held on December 5.
Targeting the state government for not raising the issue in the GST council meeting, leader of the Opposition Jayanarayan Mishra said the chief minister should announce waiver of 9 per cent GST on kendu leaf which the state government is getting as share from the central tax.