Lucknow, Aug. 31 -- Cutting across party lines, legislators in Uttar Pradesh have demanded a waiver on the 18% Goods and Services Tax (GST) currently levied on constituency development funds or Vidhayak Nidhi, arguing that the tax reduces the money actually available for local area development. The demand has been raised though the GST Council has declined it in the past. Some states have chosen to absorb the burden themselves.

The issue also resonates among lawmakers in other states ranging from Tamil Nadu to Bihar and Uttarakhand, even as some states have chosen to absorb the burden themselves.

During the recently concluded Monsoon Session of Uttar Pradesh's bicameral legislature, Devendra Pratap Singh, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ...