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Chandigarh MC polls: No new taxes, promises Congress
The Congress, aiming to take back the Chandigarh MC’s reigns from the BJP, has proposed to generate alternative sources of revenue instead of imposing any new tax on residents
With the promise to make Chandigarh the “No. 1” city in the country, the Congress on Wednesday released its manifesto for the municipal corporation elections scheduled on December 24.
Among other key promises are no new taxes, water tariff hike rollback and separate budget for villages.
The Congress, aiming to take back the MC’s reigns from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after six years, has proposed to generate alternative sources of revenue for the civic body instead of imposing any new tax on the residents.
Releasing the manifesto at the Congress Bhawan in Sector 35, former Chandigarh MP and the party’s national treasurer Pawan Kumar Bansal said: “The BJP has burdened the city residents with unprecedented high taxes, and the Congress will ensure that this is rectified.”
The party has also promised to permanently roll back the increase in water charges and other levies imposed by the BJP-run corporation. “The Congress will bring back the old rates of sewerage tax at ₹20 per toilet seat. The existing sewerage tax being charged at 30% of the water bill is the highest such tax in the country,” said Chandigarh Congress president Subhash Chawla.
The party also promised to demand the “rightful share” of the MC from the UT’s revenues, as allocated by the Delhi Finance Commission. It is a long-pending issue and has come up repeatedly in the previous election manifestos of both the BJP and Congress.
“Funds for the capital expenditure, used for development works, will be increased. In the BJP rule, it has sharply declined, affecting the city’s development,” said Bansal, adding that the Congress has resolved to ensure the city’s growth and development with accountability, commitment, and transparency.
Making city No. 1 in cleanliness
With Chandigarh slipping in the Swachh Survekshan rankings, the Congress is promising to make the city “cleanest” again.
Party’s state in-charge Harish Chaudhary said that if the Congress is voted into power, “the city’s lost glory as the best city in the country with impeccable standards in cleanliness, beautiful roads, exquisite parks and a good quality of life will be re-achieved”.
The party will revamp the existing garbage management system, and a “new world-class garbage treatment plant with latest technology will be set up on priority”, states the manifesto. Under the new garbage collection system, maximum share of the revenue will be given to the personnel engaged in garbage collection, it said.
Notably, the BJP has repeatedly blamed the Congress for the dysfunctional solid waste processing plant in Dadumajra, as it was set up during the Congress rule. “If it was so bad, then why didn’t the BJP do anything about it in the last six years?” said Chawla.
Congress is locked in a three-cornered electoral battle with the BJP and Aam Admi Party (AAP). In the past few months, the party has seen senior party leaders, including former city unit chief Pardeep Chhabra, join the rival parties. The party is also facing challenge from around a dozen rebel candidates.
