Property Tax: Cong councilors, shopkeepers burn effigy of state govt
Wednesday, 20/03/2013
http://www.punjabnewsline.com/news/Property-Tax_-Cong-councilors_-shopkeepers-burn-effigy-of-state-govt.html
JALANDHAR: Protests against the property tax being imposed from April 1, this year continued unabated. Many traders association joined hands with the Dynamic Group of Congress Councilors in the protests and staged a dharna at the Sri Ram Chowk in front of the building of the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation.
They also burnt the effigy of the state government and mayor of the corporation also. The shopkeepers of the Phagwara gate area closed their business sites for two hours to join the dharna as a token strike to reach their voice against the proposed property tax. Sushil Rinku, Bal Krishen Bali, Shravan Grover, all congress councilors of the dynamic group with in the congress councilors group in the corporation condemned the state government for introducing property tax.
They said that if the government and the civic authorities were honest in improving the financial position of the civic bodies, then the authorities should focus their attention towards the recovery of house tax, collection of which would enrich the civic bodies more than they expect from the property tax. They said that the arbitrary functioning of the corporation in this regard would not be allowed at any cost and the protests would continue till the proposal of the property tax was not scrapped.
Meanwhile different traders associations have authorized Ravinder Dhir, president of the Beopar Sena to form an action committee to protest against the property tax.
On the other hand the SAD and BJP leaders are hopeful of a possible solution of the ongoing row over the issue of the rates and zoning system introduced in Jalandhar with the constitution of a review committee headed by Chief Parliamentary Secretary in the department of Local Bodies SomParkash.
