HomeOpinionLettersLetters to the Editor: 6 August, 2019

Letters to the Editor: 6 August, 2019

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FEATURE LETTER DIARY 679x400 e1545637164261

Revocation of Article 370 will pave way for J&K’s development

The revocation of Article 370 and Article 35A has bought cheers and hopes to many people in Jammu and Kashmir. The bifurcation of Ladakh region and Jammu and Kashmir as Union Territories will help ensure to strengthen administrative control and bring prosperity to the residents of the erstwhile state. It is also overwhelming that the BJP which introduced the bill in Rajya Sabha was well supported by its key allies and opposition members including BSP and AAP. The opposition’s unity and maturity demonstrated to stand with the Center’s landmark decision, with few exceptions, should be highly appreciated.

It now needs to be seen how well the road map of development will be laid for Jammu and Kashmir with revoking of Article 370 and Article 35A. The Centre should now leave no stone unturned and aim towards quick and successive development programs in these two newly formed Union Territories. With this one also expects a boost to tourism, industry and trade opportunities as it opens the flood gates of prosperity with the rest of India. Terrorism will definitely take a back seat with such a bold move and one hopes that it will cease to decline with the formation of new Union Territories which has bought in hopes of development.

Varun Dambal

 

Income Tax authorities clears rupees 500 crore as agricultural income

It refers to Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its report for the year ending March 2018 finding Income Tax authorities having unduly cleared about rupees 500-crore as agricultural-income (tax-free) without adequate verification. It is a common knowledge that real farmers having only income from agriculture, do not have annual income above rupees 500000 which is already exempted under Income Tax. Provision of tax-free agricultural-income is largely misused by ultra-rich persons including from film-industry and political system.

Policy should be to provide relief to actual farmers through subsidy on input-items needed for agriculture on production of affidavits about annual income. Since real farmers may not be having agricultural income above rupees five lakhs annually (for which rebate of tax is already available under section 87A of Income Tax Act), provision of tax-free agricultural income should be totally abolished. In such a scenario, extra revenue so earned can pave way for basic tax-exemption being made rupees 500000 which presently is not available if income exceeds even by a single rupee.

Madhu Agrawal

 

Prithvi Shaw fails dope test

Dope test for cricketers sound silly as cricket is a game of skills and steroids even if injected on purpose will hardly enhance one’s performance. Sad to learn that youngster Prithvi Shaw has failed a dope test for Terbutaline which is a drug used as a reliever inhaler in the management of Asthma. It was lack of knowledge than a criminal act for Prithvi Shaw and BCCI should have a separate medical counselling or doctors for cricketers or other sportsmen as well. Cricketers or sportsmen should only be treated by a select panel of doctors in case of any ailment which could even be a simple cold or cough. Top international sportsmen are under scanner for various infringements some of which could be so very ‘silly’ and we need to protect them professionally as sports is not just an big industry but the pride of the nation too is at stake.

S.N. Kabra

 

Rain, train and pain

It is notable that the Mumbai city got 97 per cent of season’s rainfall and it is a welcome news. Now that BMC should not get into the practice of water cut in the event of a good rainfall. Mumbai has got 2.254 mm of
rain and that is significant this time of the year. It is almost 97% of seasonal average rain of 2317.1 mm. People had a tough time negotiating flooded tracks after CR services stopped.  Rain pounds MMR outskirts and somehow by evening the alert eased out for Mumbai. As in the past Mithi overflowed and created water logging in the airport and the neighbouring areas of the city. Six people were killed in the rain related incidents in the city. Fortunately for the office goers it was week-end or else the miseries must have been
compounded in the event of heavy to very heavy rains on Saturday.

Nikhil Subramaniam


(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

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