The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday wrote to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Special Officer Ashwini Kumar opposing the unnecessary and unwarranted hike in house tax.
Addressing the media, AAP senior leader and MCD In-charge Durgesh Pathak said, “BJP-ruled MCD is yet again trying to raise house tax, adding to the financial burdens of Delhi residents. MCD has the potential to collect house tax worth Rs 4,700 crore from the 27.5 lakh registered properties but only Rs 1,750 crore reaches the treasuries. Every year around Rs 3,000 crore worth of house tax revenue is squandered due to the flagrant corruption by the civic body. If this enormous gap between the expected revenue and the actual amount MCD collects is filled, there would be no need to increase the house tax. AAP has a number of suggestions which it would like to discuss with Ashwini Kumar; I am hopeful he will take out time for a meeting.
“Through my letter, I have asked SO Kumar to give us time for a meeting. My team and I intend to share our ideas with him and discuss ways to improve the collection process of the Corporation. The MCD does not need to go the extra mile to generate the required amount of revenue; it already has a sufficient number of identified houses to source its house tax.