Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today announced reduction in VAT on Canteen Stores Department (CSD) goods by one per cent, from 5.25 per cent to 4.25 per cent. The Chief Minister was co-chairing a Civil-Military Liaison Conference of Haryana Government and the Army with General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GoC-in-C), Western Command, Lieutenant General S R Ghosh at Headquarters of Western Command, in Chandimandir, near here. High ranking civil and military officials from the two sides participated in the annual event.

In his inaugural address, Hooda complimented the Armed Forces for their role in nation building and further stated that he was proud of the strong bond that existed between the Armed Forces, the people and the Government of Haryana. General Ghosh lauded the decision of Haryana Government to allot land at Rohtak, Jhajjar and Bahadurgarh for ?Jai Jawan Awas Yojna?- a low cost housing scheme for the jawans. On a request made by Army, the Chief Minister announced reduction in the VAT on CSD goods, a Haryana Government release said here.

On the issue of greater coordination and interaction between Army and Police, the Army Commander said that police personnel should visit Army units and establishments. This would lead to better understanding of each other?s capabilities, he added. The state government consented its approval to open counters dedicated to serve defence personnel in Regional Transport Offices in Gurgaon and also in other districts of Haryana. The Chief Minister also ordered concessions to group housing schemes of Army. Hooda also agreed to look into the issue of allotment of land for Jai Jawan Awas Yojna and regular AWHO scheme in major cities and towns.

 The state government also accepted Army?s request to provide details of posts reserved for ex-servicemen so that effort could be made to fill all the vacancies. The Army put forth a request for Joint utilisation of Pinjore flying academy to serve the interests of both organisations. The state government agreed to examine the issue favourably. The Chief Minister sanctioned additional Rs 75 lakh for Army Industrial Training Institute (AITI) located at Ambala, to be given in tranches of Rs 25 lakh each. The money would be utilised by the institute for funding various welfare-related projects for the retiring Ex-servicemen.