Minister in-charge Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Ampareen Lyngdoh on Monday said agri produces should be isolated and insulated from taxing.
Talking to the media after holding a meeting with the farmers group, Dr Lyngdoh said expressed concern over toll gates collected from agricultural produce.
Expressing concern that too many toll gates collecting road tax from the farmers, which in a way is killing their livelihood, the Minister said, “I had a meeting with the farmers group today in the Secretariat where they have complaint that too many authorities collecting too many kind of road tax and it is killing the farmers business, so they have brought it to my attention and I have assured them that I will take it up with the highest authority because I am told that it is the multiple Departments and not just one Department.”
She further said, “I am not saying I will be asking the Government to stop all the toll gates but I am going to appraise the Government that these toll gates are killing our farmers, we have to sit down and discuss this matter because farmers are ours, how can you tax your own farmers? how do you expect the farming to be lucrative if farmers have to pay huge amount of money to different, different gates?”
Assuring to take up the matter with the Chief Minister, the Minister incharge of agriculture said, “I am not competent but I will bring it to the attention of the Chief Minister to call for a meeting because we have to protect the interest of the farmers.”
The minister said a committee has been constituted to address issues related to the illegal deduction of weight of agricultural produce at Iewduh market.
“These are our People’s produce, we should cover them under protective measures, so that we are not killing our People’s goods,” Dr. Lyngdoh said.