GUJRANWALA, Aug 24: The local chamber of commerce and industry and other trade organizations have flayed an increase in power tariff and doubling the withholding tax and income tax in electricity bills.
Speaking at a meeting here on Sunday presided over by GCCI senior vice-president Haji Ehsanullah, the participants said the Wapda enhanced power tariff for both domestic and commercial consumers.
They also criticized the government for doubling the withholding tax and income tax in power bills without any consultation with the chamber of commerce and industry and the business community.
The traders said that regular increase in the power rates and doubling of the withholding tax and income tax in electricity bills would cause hike in prices of almost every commodity.
In the given circumstances, they expressed their apprehension that the country could not achieve its export target while the national economy would suffer badly in consequence.
They feared that foreign investors and exporters would not accept the consignments on higher rates as they had already placed orders of various products before the hike in power rates.
UPLIFT PROJECTS: The construction work of various uplift projects in the city besides houses and commercial plazas was affecting badly on account of increase in prices of building material.
The building contractors declined to continue construction work on previous rates and demanded that an estimate of construction work should be revised forthwith.
A survey in this respect on Sunday revealed that prices of building material had been enhanced by dealers and shopkeepers by 25 to 30 per cent without any justification.
The building contractors and citizens revealed that the brick kiln owners raised the price of bricks to Rs2,000 per 1,000 from Rs1,600, cement Rs230 per bag from Rs175, sand Rs2,000 per truck from Rs1,600, stone Rs4,200 per truck from Rs3,500 and clay Rs350 per trolley from Rs300.
Similarly, the masons and labourers also raised their wages and declined to work on old rates. Now they were receiving Rs300 and Rs150 per day instead of Rs250 and Rs125 per day, respectively.
RESENTMENT: The workers of factories and some labour organizations resented on Sunday ban on inspection of factories imposed by the Punjab government under its recently announced industrial policy.
In connection with this, a meeting was held here on Sunday in which the participants held that the government had provided relief to the factory owners instead of labourers by stopping inspection at factories by the labour inspectors.
They demanded that inspection of the records of factories should be restored immediately, otherwise, the labour organizations would launch a protest campaign against the government and the factory owners.