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AAP accuses civic bodies of burdening public with taxes and giving waivers to contractors
The BJP dismissed the allegations and said no property tax was increased during the current fiscal and all decisions were taken in accordance with laws and policies.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led municipal corporations in Delhi (MCDs) of corruption and causing stress to people by increasing the property tax, especially at a time when they were struggling to recover from the economic impact of the nationwide lockdown and the pandemic.
The BJP dismissed the allegations and said no property tax was increased during the current fiscal and all decisions were taken in accordance with laws and policies.
“On the one hand, the BJP-ruled MCDs have doubled commercial property tax and, on the other hand, they are bringing in schemes to give illegal favours to contractors. This is outright corruption. This has been done in south MCD. Now it is going to happen in North MCD also,” said the AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj in a press conference.
He further said, “Now the BJP-ruled MCD is bringing in a proposal to increase residential property tax by 34% in all categories. They have already increased taxes on commercial properties several times. But the same MCDs are forgoing the fee charged on parking contractors and advertisement contractors. Such policies have contributed to the stress of the common people who are struggling to recover from the financial shock of the nationwide lockdown.”
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “None of the three MCDs has increased any property tax rates for the general public or even traders during the current financial year. Only commercial property tax was slightly increased, as directed by the municipal valuation committee. On Monday, Saurabh Bhardwaj had himself said why are MCDs not increasing tax and keeping a check on commercially rented properties and, surprisingly, today, he is objecting to his own demand.”
“The waiver given to advertising agencies and parking contractors was done as per the central government policy to allow relief to government contractors for the four months of the lockdown period. Even the Delhi government has given similar relief to several categories of traders,” Kapoor said.
