Jammu industrial units facing financial crunch claim stocks piling up

     Jammu, Aug 21 (PTI) Industrial units in Jammu are facing financial crunch and their stocks are piling up due to snapping of internet services and having no contacts with buyers from Kashmir Valley, a body of industrialists said.
     Bari Brahmana Industries Association (BBIA) President Lalit Mahajan sought intervention of Governor Satya Pal Malik and demanded, among other things, waiver of bank interest on term loan and cash credit facilities, soft loans and deferment of power bills without any surcharge for delayed payments.
     "An urgent meeting of the members of various industrial associations of Jammu took place to discuss the problem being faced by the unit holders," said Mahajan, who chaired the meeting.
     He said the members expressed concern over the snapping of internet services across the state since early this month following the scrapping of special status to Jammu and Kashmir and its bifurcation into two union territories.
     "The industrial sector supplying goods to Kashmir is suffering very badly as the unit holders have no contact with the buyers, resulting in curtailment in the production and piling up of huge quantity of stocks due to which their working capital stands exhausted. They are not in a position to pay the GST, power bills and bank interest on working capital and term loan," he said.
     Mahajan said the meeting also highlighted that payments worth hundreds of crores of industrial units for the past several months stand blocked with J&K's Power Development Department (PDD) for the supply of material under the centrally sponsored Saubhagya Scheme, as the bills are pending with the department due to some procedural delay in spite of the facts that the material supplied by the unit holders were as per the delivery schedule.
     "It is unfortunate on the part of the PDD to withhold the payment of industrial units in spite of the facts that the funds have already been released by the Centre under the scheme," he said.
     Mahajan also added that the GST input tax credit claims worth crores of rupees are pending with the state tax department.
     "We request the governor to kindly intervene into the matter to resolve the issue on a priority basis and also provide relief to the industrial sector for their survival like waiver of bank interest on term loan and cash credit facilities for the months of July, August and September with the rescheduling of bank instalments of term loans," he said.
     Mahajan also demanded that no account should be declared non-performing asset (NPA) during the period from July to September, and soft loans should be provided to unit holders if needed, since industries there are facing financial crunch due to complete stoppage of financial transitions with the buyers of Kashmir Valley.
     Meanwhile, the Traders' Federation Warehouse-Nehru Market, Jammu, demanded extension in dates for filing income tax and GSTN returns in view of the peculiar situation that emerged after abrogation of Article 370 on August 5.
     "Traders of Jammu firmly stand with the government and welcome all measures that can bring lasting peace to our state that is suffering due to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism... we hope that the government would provide necessary relief to augment trade once situation becomes congenial," the federation's general secretary, Deepak Gupta, said.
     He said the federation requested the governor to take up the matter with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the extension of date for deposit and filing of GST and income tax returns till the restoration of internet services across the state. PTI TAS HRS

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from a PTI feed.)