Rourkela, Oct. 29: A delegation of the Rourkela Chamber of Commerce and Industries (RCCI) has apprised the industries secretary Vishal Dev of the problems that are bothering the business community.

The meeting took place here yesterday.

Led by the chamber’s president Subrat Patnaik, the delegation members raised various issues related to land, water and value added tax. Binod Sharma, former president of the RCCI, gave a presentation of the problems that are being confronted by the local industry.

The delegation wanted the government to expedite the proposed eight-land clusters for industrialisation in the state. One of the clusters is in Rourkela. Land allotted to industries against full payment should not be taken back and there should be provisions for leased land that could be mortgaged for bank loan, said RCCI general secretary Malaya Mandal.

It also expressed concern over the lack of maintenance of existing set-up and development of more facilities in the Rourkela, Kalunga and Jharsuguda industrial estates. It also urged the government to start underground cabling and make transfer hassle free.

The delegation wanted a full and final settlement of water dues without any penalty or interest. It also wanted all dues to be considered on actual consumption basis and not on an arbitrary average basis.

“We demanded minerals that are short in supply be made available to entrepreneurs,” said Mandal.

The delegation also wanted the licences of small industries to be renewed at the district level, so that one does not have to go to Bhubaneswar for the purpose.

The members also drew the government’s attention to the existing high rates of value added tax on many items. “The tax should commensurate with the prevailing rates that are applied in neighbouring states on items such as fabrication, machinery, chemicals, electrical goods and automobile spare parts,” said Patnaik.