The State Government seems to have been cornered by the Opposition as well as the coalition partners over the issue of hiking holding tax after the State Cabinet okayed the Jharkhand Municipal Property Tax (Assessment, Collection and Recovery) Rules framed by the Urban Development department on Saturday last.
The coalition partners believed that they must be taken into confidence before taking such a vital decision. The FJCCI will also to meet to discuss the issue. State Congress president Sukhdeo Bhagat will be meeting the Chief Minister to register his protests on the issue.
“Our party president was to meet the CM today by the latter left for Dumka. He will be meeting the CM as soon as he comes back from there,” said Congress spokesperson Shailesh Sinha.
“The Government will have to review the rules at any cost,” he added. The RJD, another coalition partner in the Soren Government, has decided to stage dharna at all the district headquarters on February 18 to protest against the rules. “As this is a serious issue we will move forward according to the provisions under democratic structure and a dharna on February 18 will be staged across the state against the move,” said state RJD president Girinath Singh.
Similarly, Federation of Jharkhand Chamber and Commerce and Industry has also decided to meet on February 13 to discuss the issue. “We have decided to understand the issue first and after doing a self assessment we will be able to comment on it,” said FJCCI chief Bikash Singh.
The BJP will also be opposing the rules in the coming session of the Assembly. “This is completely wrong. There is a heap of waste lying in the city; there is no proper supply of drinking water even though the tax has been raised,” said former Assembly Speaker and Ranchi MlA CP Singh. “First, you will have to tell people that the government will be giving such and such facilities to you and then only you can think of increasing the tax, he added.
“We will be opposing the Rules in the coming Assembly session,” he added. Jharkhand Vikas Morcha however, is yet to decide its strategy on the issue.