Jaipur, Aug 23 : Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday inaugurated the new GST Bhavan in Udaipur located in the Hiran Magri area of the city.

The Finance Minister performed an Aarti amid Vedic chanting before unveiling the plaque to throw open the GST Bhawan.

"The work for this complex started in 2020, but it got delayed a little because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Today we are happy to see the office complex ready. This new office will serve as many as 13 districts," Sitharaman said, as she urged the officials to concentrate on information sharing to reduce grievances with regard to GST.

The new GST Bhawan has a conference hall, meeting hall, data analytics cell, library, interrogation cell, and a guest house, officials said.

The Finance Minister said that small businesses have grown after Covid as "we offer quick resolutions to their problems".

"We want to ensure that there are no problems due to any issue related to GST," she said.

Urging the traders to frequently visit this premises and get friendly with the officials, the Finance Minister said, "The officials will ensure that your problems are resolved. This area has huge zinc and lead stocks. Zinc gives 27 per cent revenue while cement also generates a large share in GST. The other units are tyres, and calcium phosphate industry, etc. These are units which generate good GST revenues. Besides, we also have other small businesses which are contributing to GST."

Udaipur MP Mannalal Rawat, Rajya Sabha MP Chunnilal Garasiya, Udaipur Rural MLA Phool Singh Meena, Maharana Mewar Foundation Trustee Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Udaipur Collector Arvind Kumar Poswal, and other dignitaries and entrepreneurs from the city were also present at the inauguration ceremony.

Speaking on the occasion, Mannalal Rawat said, "We need to work 24x7 to ensure a developed India. As the Mewar region has a lot of tourism opportunities, we can plan out a new satellite town with focus on tourism. The Finance Minister's visit to Udaipur resolved many challenges as she held detailed discussions with the local traders.

"The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has sanctioned about Rs 100 crore for the Udaipur-Pindwara highway, information of which was received on Friday."

/IANS