Chandigarh: Themanagements of technical institutions in Punjab have asked for help from the state government in the matters of tax concessions, for their survival. During a meeting of nearly 100 educational institutions from Punjab held at Mohali on December 15, 2010 (Wednesday), the managements expressed concern at the deteriorating economic condition of the technical institutes across the state.
As per sources, the meeting was held under the banner of the Punjab Unaided Technical Institutions Association (PUTIA). PUTIA President J.S. Dhaliwal has said that Punjab colleges had always contributed in the development of the state, especially in the field of education. He also said that the institutions had to pay so many taxes like Value Added Tax (VAT), Change of Land Use (CLU), External Development Charges (EDC), stamp duty and others, due to which running the institutes had become financially unviable.
Furthermore, Mr Dhaliwal has said that the colleges should not be charged commercial rate of electricity. The various taxes on the purchase of building material for the construction of college building should be exempted. Pointing to the large number of vacant seats in various colleges of Punjab, Dhaliwal said that educational institutes do not produce any type of pollution, but still they have to get clearance from the pollution board.
Mr Dhaliwal also added that many of the colleges could not even cross double-digit figures in courses like management, architecture, hotel management and pharmacy. If the state government does not take corrective measures at the earliest, many of the institutes would have to close down. He pointed out that in the last 10 years, the fee structure has not been revised in Punjab, except for a marginal increase in the current 2010-11 fiscal year.
Besides, according to Mr Dhaliwal, the price index has skyrocketed during this period. The salaries, cost of construction, transport charges and other things are increasing regularly and institutes are not able to cope up in such situations. The state government should consider the revision of fee structure at the earliest.
