Illegal taxes, threat to life stalling infra projects, hampering growth of Nagaland: Contractors’ Union

While the rest of the Northeast is experiencing progress in terms of infrastructure development, it seems, the same cannot be said of Nagaland. People have been at the receiving end as welfare projects are not well executed or even at times remain ‘incomplete’ causing inconvenience to the people in general.

But what is the reason behind this?

The Nagaland Contractor and Suppliers Union (NCSU) said that ‘unseen tax’ (illegal taxation, extortion) is the sole reason for projects either getting delayed or left incomplete.

Speaking to the media, NCSU said that there are as many as 18 groups or factions who come to collect money from the contractors. The amount depends on the size of the project. It could vary from 1 per cent to much over 5 per cent.

It is not just the money that the goons collect in the name of various taxes which are completely illegal, sometimes they kidnap engineers or workers involved with a project and also take away machines and equipment including heavy earth movers or excavators.

NCSU said that the contractors in the state are working amid a huge threat to their and their employees’ lives.

Speaking exclusively to Northeast Live, NSCU president Pele Khezhie expressed concern and said, “Unseen tax (illegal tax) is maximum. People criticise our government, they criticise the contractors but unseen tax, unseen expenditure is too much. So, we cannot complete the project, we cannot do quality works.“

Khezhie said that the contractors who actually execute the projects on the ground, always want that the state should be at par with the most advanced states in the nation. But ground realities are very different, there are a lot of challenges and money extortion through illegal taxes is the biggest problem.

Appealing to those behind collecting illegal taxes, the NCSU president said, “We want to develop Nagaland and we need everybody to support our project, our development. If they support us, then we can compete with other advance states.“

The illegal tax collection has impacted trade and commerce. The business community has been facing severe difficulties and financial stress with some on the verge of a breakdown, the NSCU said.