MUMBAI: Leaders of various parties in BMC
are gearing up to oppose the administration’s plan to continue with the
up to 8% yearly water tax hike. They raised objection on Wednesday when
the issue came up at the standing committee meeting.

In 2012, BMC cleared a proposal to increase water tax (for residential
and commercial use ) by up to 8% every year for the next five years.
The standing committee, at that time, had given the civic chief the
power to increase the tax without taking their approval. The five-year
deadline ends in June 2017.

BJP group leader Manoj Kotak
said, “BMC has Rs 61,000 crore bank deposits and there is no need to
continue with the hike. Like the state waived off farmer loans, we will
ensure citizens are freed from the tax burden.”