Guntur : House owners oppose garbage tax

Guntur : House owners and tenants are opposing the proposal of the Guntur Municipal Corporation to collect garbage tax of Rs 60 per month in the slum areas and Rs120 per month in remaining areas in Guntur city.

Similarly, the GMC has a proposal to collect Rs 200 to Rs15,000 per month from business establishments and industries. GMC decided to collect garbage tax on pilot basis in 7th and 32nd divisions in the municipal corporation limits. It has a proposal to collect the garbage tax in all divisions very soon.

The government has already hiked property tax and imposed additional financial burden on the house owners.The house owners are passing this burden onto the tenants.

Federation of Apartments and Colonies Welfare Association secretary L S Bharavi opposed collection of garbage tax from the households. He said they will submit a memorandum to the GMC commissioner within two days and recalled that ward volunteers are collecting the garbage tax in some apartments in Guntur city.

The GMC has entrusted the responsibility to two companies for collecting the garbage tax.On behalf of two companies, ward volunteers are collecting the tax. He said people are already troubled with Covid-19. What is the need to hike property tax and impose garbage tax now, he wondered.

He recalled that the State government had taken Rs2,500 crore loan for implementing reforms, hiked property tax and collecting garbage tax. Implementation of reforms is must to get funds from the Central government.

He said collection of garbage tax is not correct because property tax includes garbage collection expenses.

He questioned when did the GMC Council give its nod to collect garbage tax? He warned that in case of need, they will fight legally against the garbage tax.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India Guntur district leaders are conducting roundtable in couple of days on garbage tax collection.

A house owner, B Sambrajyam said decision of GMC to collect garbage tax is not correct. Instead of providing better services, the GMC hiked property tax and collecting garbage tax.