Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)
Mangalore, Apr 4: Opposition Congress has strongly objected to the unilateral and sudden announcement about the hiking of self assessment property tax rates in the city by the city corporation.
The party leaders said that a resolution to increase property taxes within the corporation limits had been moved in the general session of the city corporation council on January 31. After Congress party resisted the move, a final decision in the matter had been deferred, they said. Disregarding these developments, the city mayor announced at a press conference on March 31 that property taxes have gone up by 15 percent with effect from April 1. “We condemn this act,” announced opposition leader in the city corporation council, Lancelot Pinto, addressing a press conference in the city on Sunday April 3.
He criticized BJP for implementing self assessment property tax and then raising it by 15 percent, although at the time it fought the city corporation election, it had promised the people not to introduce the self assessment property tax system in the city. He noted that the registration charges in the city will go up next month, as a result of which, the people will have to shell out 30 percent property tax over and above what they had paid last year.
“The city corporation has also added solid waste disposal cess along with increasing property tax, causing double trouble for people. This is unscientific. These things are being adopted without going through procedures and proper calculations. This will be additional burden on the people. Already people are finding it hard to pay property taxes. Increasing the tax at this juncture, and levying of additional cess, are wrong steps,” he criticized.
Former mayor, Shashidhar Hegde, lamented the fact that a number of protests and objections undertaken by Congress on different anti-people steps had failed to make any impact on the BJP-run city corporation administration. He said that this has given rise to a situation in which agitating, protesting, and fighting against moves are thought to be having no impact and hence, will not getting desired result.
Former city mayor, Ashraf, Harinath, Nagendra Kumar, D K Ashok Kumar and Deepak Poojary were present.