Revised property tax structure by BMC is arbitrary.
Your report, 'Property tax structure unfair' (DNA, Jan25) is an understatement. It is totally arbitrary. It does not befit a democratic body. Our CHS received the revised property tax structure a couple of weeks ago and we are asked to pay up almost 100 percent increase from April,2010 within a matter of three months. How can any democratically elected body increase tax 100 percent at one go and ask people to pay it up within three months ? What is the rationale ? Is BMC in league with the builders who increase their price every year for no reason making Mumbai out of bounds for all the poor and the middle class which provide the essential services to the city and its citizens. Already, 60 percent of the people live in slums.
Curiously, BMC is garnering more revenue when it does not collect what is its due. BMC has failed to recover Rs.5,064 crore from the state government, contractors and tax defaulters (DNA,Jan.28). BMC has failed the Mumbai citizens in every sphere of life – proper roads, good primary schools, garbage collection and disposal, traffic management ( pedestrians have no footpath) and many other civic facilities. BMC urgently requires managerial solutions to all these problems. It is time the corporate sector sets up a think-tank to come up with solutions to the civic issues to educate both the citizens and the elected representatives. This should be the part of its corporate social responsibility. The Central and States governments have to reorganize the structure of civic bodies to provide proper civic services.
Jan.29,2012.
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