The Hindu 06.12.2010
Call to abide by MP's plea not to pay garbage tax
| 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 They demanded that the GO should be withdrawn and the collection of this tax be put on hold with immediate effect.
