CM wants Common Economic Zone to ease burden on Delhi

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit wants National Capital Region comprising Delhi and satellite towns to become a common economic and taxation zone, a move she feels will cut down the increasing flow of migrants into the city.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit wants National Capital Region (NCR) comprising Delhi and satellite towns to become a common economic and taxation zone, a move she feels will cut down the increasing flow of migrants into the city.

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Dikshit, while identifying migration into Delhi as a major challenge, said she has already taken up the matter with the neighbouring states as well as prominent industry chambers including FICCI, CII and PHD Chamber of Commerce but the response so far has not been very encouraging.

"I have always been a very, very vociferous votary of NCR region being a common economic and a common taxation zone.I have said it in every meeting of the NCR Planning Board," she told PTI in an interview.

In its meeting last month, Dikshit had asked the Board to take appropriate steps to ease the pressure on capital's infrastructure due to increasing migration and emphasised the need for developing counter-magnet centres.

"At the time of independence we had 14 lakh population.Today we have 160 lakh population.The areas remain same. Though the satellite towns have come up, it has not been enough because the hub and the centre of all economic activities of Northern India remains in Delhi," Dikshit said.