Mass protests held over move to hike property tax

Vijayawada: Rallying all sections of people, the members of Andhra Pradesh Urban Citizens Federation (APUCF) staged protests before all the urban local bodies throughout the state for two days on Wednesday and Thursday taking strong exception to the imposition of property tax basing on the value of the property and enhancing the garbage tax and drainage and water charges.

The demonstrators raising slogans against the state government deploring the move to enhance taxes at a time the people are suffering both economically and physically due Covid-19.

The police attempted to foil the protests held at the municipal corporations, municipalities and Nagara Panchayats all over the state.

The council meeting of the Kurnool Municipal Corporation was shifted to the dumping yard from the council hall when the protesters staged a dharna at the council hall on Thursday.

The police were deployed in large numbers at the municipal corporation office in Vijayawada preventing the demonstrators reaching the civic office.

The protesters had torn down the copies of the government orders, which were issued enhancing the taxes.

The people's organisations, including taxpayers associations, apartment welfare associations, traders and commerce associations, and workers and labour associations affiliated to CITU participated in the protests.

They submitted memoranda to mayors, municipal chairpersons and municipal commissioners.

Though minister for municipal administration Botcha Satyanarayana categorically stated that the enhancement would be only 15 per cent of the previous tax, people did not believe it. They wanted a written assurance that the enhancement would not be every year.

State Convenor of Andhra Pradesh Urban Citizens Federation Ch Babu Rao said that the municipal officials did not present the memoranda submitted to the elected councils in order to delay the procedure.