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Dimapur, Sep. 27 (EMN): The Confederation of Nagaland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CNCCI) has urged the state government to call for a special session on Sarfaesi Act at the earliest if at all the government is serious about the local entrepreneurs, improvement of the state economy, and creating avenues for unemployed people.
CNCCI stated that implementation of the Sarfaesi Act in the state would help thousands of self-employed entrepreneurs to grow. Besides, it would further mitigate the unemployment scenario in the state as the government cannot support or employ every unemployed youth.
A CNCCI statement issued on Sunday stated that the economic scenario and unemployment have been further pushed to the edge with the Covid-19 pandemic following months of lockdown and with the returning of thousands of entrepreneurs and employees working in private sectors outside the state to Nagaland.
CNCCI reminded the government that not every person is privileged sons and daughters of politicians and bureaucrats and unless the government desires to exploit the people without empowering its public, the government ‘should not even have a second thought to provide such an opportunity to its people.’
It further reminded the government that in a fast-changing economic scenario, any important economic policy that is delayed even for one financial year could be equated with a generational loss as market and entrepreneurial opportunity do not remain static.
It recalled that CNCCI had, on various occasions, raised the issue of the need to implement Sarfaesi Act in Nagaland with an amendment in tune with Article 371A. It stated that the issue was raised in a press release on March 11, 2020 and a letter addressed to the chief minister was submitted on April 24, 2020, flagging issues and concern confronting the business community especially during the pandemic times.
CNCCI also stated that it had raised and presented the need to implement the Sarfaesi Act as a priority economic policy to the three working groups under the core group headed by an additional chief secretary and development commissioner of Nagaland.This was entrusted by strategic committee for economic affairs headed by the chief minister to draw a roadmap for the economic development of the state vis-à-vis pandemic lockdown. CNCCI lamented that the whole exercise looked like another ‘procedural fulfilment to be dumped to dust in some office.’
While anticipating that the issue of Sarfaesi Act would be addressed in the 2020 monsoon assembly session, CNCCI lamented that to the dismay of the Naga entrepreneurs and Naga business community, the state government did not take up the issue despite knowing the fact that it was the most important and pressing issue considering the grim economic scenario of the state and the future of thousands of entrepreneurs and unemployed youths.
Meanwhile, CNCCI, on behalf of the business community of Nagaland, has thanked the government for the rollback of Covid cess on petroleum products. It expressed hope that the government would consult the stakeholders on a policy matter that would have huge implications on the ground and on the state economy in future.