BENGALURU: The BJP on Wednesday demanded the rollback of garbage user fee in the city. The Congress government has introduced Rs 250 fee for garbage management.
Speaking to reporters at BBMP, Opposition Leader R Ashoka criticized the government for burdening Bengaluru residents with excessive taxes.
“They (Congress) are devising a scheme to extract revenue from garbage. Congress has imposed the highest garbage tax in the country. While Kempegowda earned the title of Nadaprabhu for building the state, Congress leaders have earned the title of those who ruined it,” he said.
Previously, the city had a cess. Now, a user fee has been added alongside it. While the garbage tender is valued at Rs 147 crore, excessive fees are being collected from the public. With the user fee, the collection could reach Rs 500 to Rs 600 crore, he said.
“Either user fee or cess should be collected. The move will increase house rents, as well as rates for commercial buildings, marriage halls, hospitals, schools, and hotels. One tax will lead to an increase in all rates,” he said.
Ashoka accused the Congress of looting Bengaluru residents. “They use the excuse of central government law, even though no central law mandates imposing two types of fees,” he said.
He urged the government to convene a meeting of Bengaluru MLAs to discuss this issue and alleged that such taxes are being collected to fund Congress’s five guarantee schemes.
The BJP party’s Bangalore City wing gave a representation to Additional Chief Secretary Tushar Girinath who is also the BBMP Administrator. The representation said that Siddaramaiah was responsible for making Bengaluru a city more expensive than Dubai. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar is responsible for implementing an unrealistic project, Brand Bengaluru. The citizens have been battered by the mismanagement of both of them, the BJP said in the representation.
By forming the Greater Bangalore Authority and dividing the city into six municipalities, the government has taken a step to disenfranchise the original Bengaluru citizens. In the last two years, DCM has not implemented a single infrastructure project in the city and is showing the daydream of Brand Bengaluru to the citizens,” the representation stated.
The BJP also demanded steps to reduce corruption in the corporation and maintain quality of work and initiative to provide a citizen-friendly administration.