Abrar Mattoo
SRINAGAR, Feb 22: Terming the move both arbitrary and hasty, corporators in Srinagar Municipal Corporation have united against the implementation of Property Tax in Srinagar, and an urgent meeting of all corporators has been called on Thursday, 23 February 2023, by Srinagar Corporators Front (SCF).
“SCF will contest the arbitrary decision of the Housing and Urban Development Department regarding the implementation of Property Tax in Srinagar, and in this regard, an urgent meeting of all Hon’ble Corporators has been sought,” Danish Shafi Bhat, President of Srinagar Corporators Front said while speaking with Kashmir Despatch.
“Our stand in this regard is clear-cut: the corporation was not consulted in this policy decision and under Section 40 of the Municipal Corporation Act, all the policy decisions need to be decided by the corporation,” Bhat added.
He further said that the Corporation is the elected body, while Commissioner and other bureaucrats are the nominal in-charge and subservient to elected counsel.
Mr. Bhat opined that if the council formally decides to oppose the move, under Municipal Corporation Act, the Government’s decision to impose Property Tax will not extend to Srinagar Municipal Corporation and by virtue of it, to all the areas which fall under SMC jurisdiction.
Bhat further added that after the preliminary meeting tomorrow, “a session of the General Council might be convened wherein threadbare debate concerning the imposition of Property Tax would be done.”
Many sections of the society have pinned their hope to the Hon’ble council of SMC, because then, the decision to implement Property Tax may be either halted for a while, or completely averted. However, the council has unanimously stood against Property Tax thus far.
Srinagar’s Deputy Mayor, Parvaiz Qadri has also opposed the decision, saying that the decision is arbitrary. “We will conduct a meeting in which we would pass a resolution questioning the Govt’s arbitrary decision,” Qadri added, while further reaffirming that the corporation would not allow the move to be executed on the ground.
Qadri said that the government should have consulted the elected body and the “bureaucrats who are on deputation in Jammu and Kashmir cannot understand the real situation on the ground–the common man is destitute.”
Srinagar’s Mayor has also tweeted his opposition to the move, stating the move as violative of municipal empowerment.
“Imposition of Property Tax in J&K is ironically violative of municipal empowerment as this has neither been deliberated upon nor approved by elected Urban Local Bodies,” the Mayor tweeted.
The government has attempted to impose Property Tax three times thus far and has received fierce opposition from all political parties, including the BJP. It remains to be seen what would follow this time, with the move again receiving opposition from different sections.
