Central Excise blocks drinking water pipeline for Hyderabad
If Hyderabad does not get enough water this summer, it has to blame the Central Excise department which is demanding duty on the steel pipes used for bringing the Krishna water to the thirsty city. Unable to pay the duty the contractors have called it a day and it look like there are no pipes and no water and of course no excise! The dispute is about the stages in the pipeline. While Central Excise department wants to give exemption to only the first of the four stages, the Water Board maintains that there is only one continuous lift and there are no distribution points mid way. The problem has to be sorted out immediately as this cannot wait for four to five years of adjudication, appeal etc,.