The Income Tax Department’s new office-cum-residential complex, ‘The Chinars’, at Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir, was inaugurated on Monday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the presence of Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir Manoj Sinha.
Dedicating the project to the people of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Sitharaman said that the Income Tax office at Srinagar will act as a bridge to connect the people of the region to the best taxpayer services and also help them in their taxation issues through the Aaykar Sewa Kendra. She also observed that it will provide an enabling environment for the “bhagidari” i.e. people’s participation in the development of the region.
In his address, LG Manoj Sinha highlighted the importance of taxpayers in the economic development of the country and said that the Income Tax Department is becoming seamless from the stage of filing return to the issuance of refund. He observed that the success of the taxpayers will lead to greater economic development of UT of J&K and appealed to the taxpayers to honestly pay their taxes.
The Income Tax Department started with a modest rented abode in Barbarshah in 1954 and has now grown to one of the largest civilian offices of the Government of India in Srinagar.
The 3.5 acres campus, adjoining the silk factory on the banks of River Jhelum, was acquired in 2008 at the cost of Rs 13.50 crores. The project was started in November 2015 by NBCC and was completed in July 2020. The total expenditure made till date is Rs 27.78 crore. The complex consists of a total of 8 buildings having office building of Principal Commissioner of Income Tax Srinagar and its associated offices, 33 Residential units and an eight-room guest house.
The building has been constructed in keeping with various human-centric and eco-friendly schemes of the Government of India, such as the ‘Accessible India Campaign’ by providing facilities for the differently abled, using LED bulbs to save electricity, Swachh Bharat Mission, National Solar Mission, water harvesting and plantation of trees to promote environmental protection.
