The Hindu 06.12.2010
Call to abide by MP’s plea not to pay garbage tax
Staff Reporter
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Decision on garbage unacceptable to people: Opposition |
VIJAYAWADA: The Opposition parties usually take objection to every
word uttered by the ruling party leaders but this is a different matter
here. Telugu Desam Party, CPI(M), CPI and Lok Satta leaders have
appealed to the people of the city to honour the words of MP Lagadapati
Rajagopal with regard to the issue of payment of garbage tax.
The Opposition leaders said as per the recent call of Mr. Rajagopal,
the city people need not pay the garbage tax regardless of the notices
being served on them. But here is a small twist here, the authorities of
the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation are smart enough to make it
difficult for the people to avoid paying the garbage tax. It is because
the officials included the garbage tax collection aspect in the property
tax notice so that there is no escaping it.
On this, the Opposition leaders said the tax payers should insist on
paying the property tax only excluding the garbage tax. If this kind of
payment was not accepted at the VMC counters, the people should have to
stop paying property tax as well till the Government comes down and
withdraws the “arbitrary” garbage tax.
Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, a day ahead of the all-party
protest against the garbage tax scheduled for Monday at Lenin centre,
TDP MLA Devineni Umamaheswara Rao and CPI city secretary K. Subba Raju
said it was time for the local MP to come before the public and clarify
as to his open advice on not paying garbage tax still holds good. They
further said instead of being preoccupied with foreign visits and
business promotion, the MP should give a little focus on the people’s
problems also and resolve them,
The Opposition leaders asked the MP to intervene in the matter and
see that garbage tax component is removed from the property tax notice
so that it will facilitate the public to abide by his own advice.
The TDP and the Left parties leaders described the decision on the
garbage tax as something that is totally unworthy and unacceptable to
the people. They asserted that they would engage all sections of people
in their agitation and this would include even the poorer sections, who
were also being affected to a large extent because of this GO on
garbage. They demanded that the GO should be withdrawn and the
collection of this tax be put on hold with immediate effect.
