Chandigarh: Congress demands withdrawal of facilitation charges

Terming the levy of charges “open loot” by the BJP-led MC, Rajiv Sharma, spokesperson of Chandigarh Pradesh Congress, said the corporation was bent upon taking out even the last penny out of the common man’s pockets

The Chandigarh Congress has demanded immediate withdrawal of facilitation charges levied by the municipal corporation (MC) on payment of water bills, non-judicial stamp papers and commercial property tax. At present, MC is charging facilitation charges of ₹10 on water bills, ₹12 on non-judicial stamp papers and ₹118 on commercial property tax at Sampark Centres.

The Chandigarh Congress spokesperson said there had been a huge increase in local taxes in the last four years and even the water tariff had been increased by more than 300% during this year. (HT Files)

Terming the levy of charges “open loot” by the BJP-led MC, Rajiv Sharma, spokesperson of Chandigarh Pradesh Congress, said the corporation was bent upon taking out even the last penny out of the common man’s pockets.

The spokesperson said there had been a huge increase in local taxes in the last four years and even the water tariff had been increased by more than 300% during this year. To add to the woes of people, facilitation charges had been imposed over and above the bill amount.

He further said the Chandigarh Congress always stood for rolling back exorbitant and back-breaking taxes imposed by the BJP-led MC and administration on civic facilities like water, sewerage and garbage collection, especially when the facilities provided were not improving commensurate with the quantum of taxes charged.