VIJAYAWADA: The Taxpayers’ Association (TPA) on Wednesday condemned the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) officials for pressurising the residents to pay user charges for garbage collection.
Addressing mediapersons here, association general secretary MV Anjaneyulu said that the VMC is pressuring households to pay user charges without even serving a demand notice.
Leaflets are being distributed asking each family to pay Rs 120 per month for garbage collection, which means that each family will pay Rs 1,440 per annum, the association general secretary said. “How can the municipal corporation staff simply distribute leaflets and demand the households to pay the user charges,” he questioned.
If a household fails to pay the user charges, penalties are being levied on them and the officials are threatening them of not collecting garbage from their houses, Anjaneyulu added. “It is the duty of the municipal corporation to remove garbage as per the law, to keep the city clean, and to prevent the spread of infectious diseases,” he said.
The pamphlet circulated by the VMC reportedly asked the users to pay the charges and help keep the city clean. The Taxpayers’ Association questioned whether the city should be kept clean if user charges are not paid. Keeping the city clean is part of public health, they asserted.