Punjab Assembly meet on May 3 to discuss wealth tax on farmers

Special session of Punjab Assembly on May 3 will discuss "extremely dangerous and critical situation" in wake of Centre`s decision to impose wealth tax on farmers owning land in 8 km of urban areas.

Chandigarh: A special session of the Punjab Assembly will be held on May 3 to discuss the "extremely dangerous and critical situation" in the wake of the Centre`s decision to impose wealth tax on farmers owning land within 8 km of urban areas. At an emergency meeting on last Friday, the Punjab cabinet had rejected the Centre`s decision to levy wealth tax on farmers.

The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, passed a resolution urging the Centre to immediately withdraw the tax, saying, "the farming community in Punjab was already reeling under a burden of debt to the tune of over Rs 37,000 crore." The resolution had requested the Governor to convene an emergency session of the Assembly on May 3 to discuss the "extremely dangerous and critical situation that has arisen out of the Centre`s decision to impose wealth tax on agriculture lands." It had noted that the move would deal a blow to the national economy on the whole. Former Chief Minister and PCC chief Amarinder Singh has also strongly protested the imposition of wealth tax on agriculture land. An official order today said Governor Shivraj Patil has summoned the Assembly to meet here on May 3. PTI