PUDUCHERRY: The Chamber of Commerce has urged the Centre to consider Puducherry for creation of a smart city under the smart city project for 100 smart cities.
In a memorandum submitted to President Pranab Mukherjee, president of the chamber K A Shenbakarajan urged the Centre to accord backward status to the Union Territory to boost economic growth and creation of employment opportunities.
Being a small territory, Puducherry is dependent on neighbouring States for products due to non-availability of raw materials. The problem will worsen once the Goods and Service Tax is introduced. So the backward status is needed to avail concession on taxes, he said.
The chamber sought the Centre’s assistance in resumption of flights from Puducherry airport. It urged the government to establish an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in the UT. It asked the President to address the mismanagement in the functioning of the Pondicherry University, which is said to have fallen to its lowest levels of quality in education. The students do not get proper placements and it was important to restore the lost fame, the memorandum said.