Vijayawada: Dumping garbage before shops for non-payment of user charges flayed

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Urban Citizens Federation (APUCF) took strong exception to the municipal authorities of Kurnool for dumping garbage before a shop when the shopkeeper refused to pay garbage tax since he was in financial crisis.

In a statement released here on Thursday, APUCF State convener Ch Babu Rao demanded that action should be taken against the municipal officials for resorting to that act. He said that imposition of garbage tax illegal since all the civic facilities would include in the property tax itself. "It is atrocious to burden people in the name of garbage tax at a time everyone was financially troubled due to pandemic. The State government is levying burden on people due to the pressure from the Central government," he pointed out.

It may be recalled that recently a former minister of YSRCP stated that garbage should be dumped before the houses, if they refuse to pay taxes. Moreover, the ward secretariat employees are threatening with cancellation of pensions, ration cards and other welfare schemes, if they do not pay the garbage tax.

Babu Rao said that it was highly atrocious on the part of the officials and people's representatives to resort to such heinous acts. He demanded immediate withdrawal of the proposal of garbage tax keeping in view the people's opinion against it.

Babu Rao appealed to the people and the traders to register their protest against the government by not paying the garbage tax.