Chandigarh- Chandigarh Congress has strongly opposed the continuous imposition of taxes on the citizens of the city by the BJP-led Municipal Corporation and the administration in the last few days.
Local Congress chief spokesperson Rajiv Sharma today expressed disappointment over the anti-people decisions of the Chandigarh Administration and the Corporation and said that after making backbreaking hikes in collector rates and property tax, now the BJP councillors have fraudulently passed the agenda of increasing parking charges in the Municipal Corporation House. They did this when the Congress councillors had walked out in protest against the ruthless behaviour of the BJP because when the entire nation was mourning the deaths of innocent tourists in Pahalgam, the BJP was expressing its happiness by distributing sweets in the House meeting. The Congress spokesperson alleged that at the time of voting, only those elected and nominated councillors were present in the House who have always supported the anti-people approach of the BJP.
After the new parking rates come into effect, four-wheelers will have to pay Rs 20 for parking for 15 minutes to 4 hours. This is an increase of over 42% over the existing rates.
Stating that there was no consultation with any other stakeholder before increasing the parking rates, the Congress spokesperson alleged that parking lots have become a source of corruption in the city. The city residents have not yet forgotten the parking scam of crores of rupees that took place a few years ago, however, due to political pressure at that time, no effective action was taken against the BJP councillors and leaders.
The Congress party has urged the Municipal Corporation and the administration not to implement the proposed hike in parking charges. The party has also demanded that the Market Welfare Association should be involved in the management of parking lots as this will not only streamline the parking system but will also curb the ongoing corruption in the parking lots.