VIJAYAWADA: Refuting the allegations of the Opposition TDP that the State government will enhance the property tax in urban local bodies after the elections, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Botcha Satyanarayana has said the Jagan Mohan Reddy government will not take any decision that will impose financial burden on the people.
Addressing the media on Thursday, Satyanarayana said based on the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission, an Act was made to levy property tax based on the market value of the property. “Unlike Naidu, who imposed taxes indiscriminately on people during his tenure, we are doing this in a scientific manner after studying the procedure adopted in other States and taking the opinion of the public,’’ he said, adding that the government had brought in a law under which the local bodies cannot increase the property tax by more than 15 per cent.
Satyanarayana recalled that during the TDP rule in 2018, Naidu increased the water cess by 33.3 per cent.
The minister said that although the TDP manifesto says it will quash the property tax in the municipalities and municipal corporations, in reality, they do not have the authority over that tax even if they win the elections.
YSRC slogan: Support the good governance
YSRC general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy released a pamphlet with details of the schemes implemented since the YSRC came to power and asked party leaders to publicise it in towns and cities. He said the YSRC is going for civic polls with the slogan, ‘Support the good governance’.
He said the YSRC government was planning to build townships and supply safe drinking water people in towns and cities. The YSRC leader explained the welfare schemes and developmental activities of the government.Sajjala said the results of the panchayat elections will be repeated in the forthcoming municipal elections. “The YSRC will sweep the municipal polls too,” he predicted.