Political tensions in UT rise over property tax hike issue

Chandigarh: As the political establishment of the city gears up for a showdown with the Chandigarh administration over the issue of a massive hike in property tax, it is not the first instance when the UT officialdom overturned or sidestepped the resolutions of the MC house on a key issue. Overruling the MC house resolution of February, where it rejected the proposal to hike the property tax rate, the administration went ahead with the imposition of a sharp increase in the property tax rate from April 1, across all property categories.
Way back in 2004, when the property tax was first imposed in the city on commercial and institutional property, the administration pushed through the imposition, overruling the MC house resolutions on the issues, particularly concerning the rate of property tax to be imposed. Another instance, also having a major bearing on the financial health of the MC, occurred when the MC house in November 2019 unanimously passed a resolution to convert all of its leasehold properties to freehold. The resolution was sent to the UT for its approval. The MC house again passed a similar resolution in 2022, but it again hit the UT wall.
In July 2023, the MC general house passed the resolution to impose double the parking fee for cars registered outside the Tricity. However, after the administration opposed the proposal, the resolution was never implemented. On the free water and parking issues, the administration and MC faced off again. The MC house, not once but twice, passed resolutions for providing 20,000 litres of water free to each household and free parking in lots under the civic body. The administration rejected the resolution.
Stating that the administration on multiple occasions didn't follow the prescribed procedure in rejecting the MC house resolutions, Chandigarh MP Manish Tiwari said, "Under the MC Act, the administration has to issue a show cause notice before rejecting an MC resolution. This didn't happen in the case of free water and the property hike resolutions of the MC. The MC itself does not understand its power."
Attacking the city bureaucracy for its "overarching dominance over elected representatives", BJP councillor Maheshinder Singh Sidhu said, "The bureaucracy wants to assimilate all powers to itself and therefore the Chandigarh administration never wants the publicly elected body of MC to be empowered. In the overall setup of UT, the democratically elected public representatives are always undermined and overlooked by the Chandigarh administration officials. India is a democratic republic, and we are a welfare state; it should always be kept in mind."
Stating that AAP would protest outside the UT administrator's house on the issue, AAP councillor and spokesperson Yogesh Dhingra said, "City residents have elected their representative to safeguard their interests and speak for them. But here the officers of the administration completely dominate and overrule the will of the people. If the administration continues to overrule the elected representatives, then what is the use of the MC? They should lock it."
Defending the decisions of the administration regarding MC, a senior UT official said, "The administration is exercising its authority only as per the laid down laws and rules. In the case of the property tax hike, the MC financial crunch warrants such an increase."
BJP COUNCILLORS THREATEN TO RESIGN OVER PROPERTY TAX HIKE; opposition calls it political stunt**
Coming under increasing pressure from the opposition parties for the hike in property tax, the BJP councillors, including the city mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla, on Tuesday held a meeting at the BJP city headquarters. The meeting, chaired by the Chandigarh BJP President Jitendra Pal Malhotra, saw the councillors pass a resolution that they would all resign if the administration does not withdraw the hike.
Malhotra said, "There is growing anger against the administration for it taking unilateral decisions on important issues. What is the need for the councillors if the administration does not involve them in the important decisions?"
Meanwhile, both AAP and Congress termed the BJP resolutions as "drama". H S Lucky of Chandigarh Congress said, "This is another political stunt by the BJP. If they were to resign, they would have resigned when the hike was imposed. When we started public protests, the BJP, to save its skin, again indulged in jumlebazi."