Property tax hike: Chd dy mayor resigns from MC panel

Chandigarh: With property tax hike snowballing into a major political issue in Chandigarh, Congress made the first move on resignations to oppose the UT's decision, which led to three-fold increase in the residential and two-fold increase in the commercial property tax in the city. It was Chandigarh deputy mayor and Congress councillor Taruna Mehta, who resigned on Thursday from the position of member of the municipal corporation's house tax committee.
A couple of days back, it was BJP councillors and mayor who had threatened to resign in protest against the property tax hike.
Taruna said there is no justification for any more meetings of this committee where property tax rates have already been increased three times. She questioned why this was not discussed in the house tax committee before the mayor brought the agenda in the house.
"By not bringing this agenda before the house tax committee and by rejecting the agenda of increasing property tax brought by the mayor in the house meeting, BJP legally cleared the way for the administration to move ahead with it. This steep hike in property tax has been done with the connivance of the mayor, BJP councillors, and senior officials of the administration. Now, when the voices of people against the BJP have become louder, its councillors are shedding crocodile tears and offering to resign, but none have resigned to date," Mehta said.
"The helpless and powerless mayor and BJP councillors threatening to resign proves that the officials of the administration under the BJP govt at the Centre do not even listen to the BJP. They have become unbridled, which has never happened in history. The BJP's administration, which increased the property tax, itself must pay crores of rupees in tax and is included in the list of defaulters. If they pay the tax, it will provide a lot of relief to MC to tide over the fragile financial condition. Chandigarh Congress will continue to raise its voice against this anti-people decision," Mehta said.