Daily News Dose: Water, land, vehicle taxes to go up in Kerala from April 1 | Mar 31, 2022

Hello, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. I'm your host, Vishnu, and these are the major news stories of the day:

1) Link your PAN with Aadhaar today or face penalty, says Finance Ministry 

2) Water, land and vehicle taxes to go up in Kerala from April 1

3) Mullaperiyar Dam: Consensus eludes Kerala,TN on supervisory committee

4) SilverLine: Chennai company backs off stone laying works, K-Rail says contract terminated

5) Student concession rate: Private bus owners plan another strike 

Let’s get into the details.

1) Failure to link PAN with Aadhaar number by Thursday, March 31, 2022, would attract a penalty,  the Finance Ministry saiid on Wednesday. As per the ministry, non-linking PAN and Aadhar would lead to a penalty of Rs 500 up to three months from April 1 and a fee of Rs 1,000 thereafter. Nevertheless, non-linked PAN cards will remain operational till March 31, 2023. Under provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, it is mandatory to link PAN and Aadhaar on or before March 31, 2022. 

2) Beginning April 1,  an increase in various taxes and charges will come into effect in Kerala. Among the major hikes are the rise in water charges, land tax, fair price of land and vehicle tax. Water charges will witness a 5% increase from April 1, covering domestic, commercial and industrial consumers. 

However, people belonging to the below poverty line category will be exempted. 

As far as vehicles are concerned, a new green tax will be levied. Autorickshaws, light, medium and heavy vehicles will have to cough up Rs 500, Rs 1,000, Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000 as green tax respectively. The registration fees have also been increased, with some categories like imported cars facing a massive hike from Rs 5,000 to Rs 40,000. The land tax paid at the village office and the fair price of land have almost doubled. These charges can now be paid online as well.

3) Kerala and Tamil Nadu have failed to reach a consensus on the matter of granting more power to the supervisory committee for the Mullaperiyar dam. While Tamil Nadu refused to accept the proposal to allow an expert committee to examine the dam, Kerala stood firm on its demand for a new dam. Tamil Nadu informed the Supreme Court that Kerala's stand on the matter has led to the present deadlock. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court, which heard the issue on Thursday, asked both sides to submit their suggestions in writing. The court is of the view that an order should be issued granting more power to the supervisory committee. The two states will submit their suggestions on the extent and nature of duties to be granted to the committee. Kerala is likely to suggest that the committee be granted power over determining the rule curve and gate operation. 

4) Chennai-based Velciti, which was assigned by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd to plant marker stones as part of a survey for the SilverLine semi high-speed railway project, has backed off from the task. The company withdrew from the contract following stiff resistance from the people living in areas where survey stones have to be planted. K-Rail, however, said it terminated the contract with the company as its performance was not up to the mark. Velciti Consulting Engineers Private Ltd provides geotechnical services for the construction of highways and bridges. K-Rail has awarded the contract to make and install survey stones from Kottayam to Ernakulam and Thrissur to Malappuram. The contract for the stretch between Kottayam and Ernakulam alone was given for Rs 41,27,834. As many as 4,202 concrete poles had to be installed along the stretch and the works were to be completed in six months. A representative of the company told Manorama News the company had sent a notice to K-Rail three months ago saying they were withdrawing from the contract. 

5) Private bus owners in Kerala are preparing for another strike protesting the government's delay in increasing the concessional fare for students. The owners will hold a meeting to discuss the issue on Thursday. The LDF government on Wednesday appointed a commission to examine whether student ticket prices should be increased, a move that did not go well private bus owners. Currently, students pay Re 1 for 1.5km and Rs 2 for 5km. The owners want the minimum limit to be increased to Rs 6. Bus owners are also not happy with the proposed hike in minimum fares for normal passengers. According to the owners, the hike was not sufficient for them to continue providing their services.

Now, let’s check out the covid update:

6) India logged 1,225 new Covid cases on Thursday, pushing the overall tally to 4,30,24,440, while the active cases dipped to 14,307.

The death toll climbed to 5,21,129 with 28 more fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry.

While the daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.20%, the weekly positivity rate stood at 0.23%.

That brings us to the end of this episode. Be sure to come back tomorrow. As always, thanks for listening to Daily News Dose.