Congress MLA Suhwinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday cornered states minister for Urban Development Mohinder Singh over Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) move to impose property tax on the house owners on unit basis. The minister admitted in the House that he doesnt have the relevant information with him to reply to queries. The questions relating to levying of the property tax - which has been strongly resisted by the citizens and also those living in newly merged areas - was tabled by Sohan Lal,(Congress). As the minister asserted that Municipal Corporation has powers to impose tax under the newly enacted law,Sukhu asked about the law,which allows levying of the taxes even on the buildings which are not yet regularised. If the tax was charged,why does the corporation not regularise the buildings,he asked. Joining in the deliberations,BJP MLA Suresh Bhardwaj said that that some people who have been subjected to taxation doesnt even enjoy basic facilities and development activities. He asked if the corporation would provide facilities to the building that have not yet been regularised. He asserted that there are a number of government employees and lower lower middle class people who have built houses in the merged areas. They cant afford to pay taxes and it is also unfair to ask them to pay property taxes when they have not been provided facilities. The minister while reading out the details of a prepared reply,however,rejected the demand for regularisation of the unauthorized buildings. Earlier,Congress MLA Kaul Singh Thakur also lodged his protest and recalled that the Congress had opposed the Bill for imposing taxes.
