JAMMU: The Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) has called for Jammu Bandh on Saturday against the government’s decision of imposing property tax in the municipal areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The government is keeping mum on the issue despite strong opposition from all sections of the society across the union territory and this shows that it does not pay heed to the sentiment of general public,” said Arun Gupta, President CCI, while addressing a presser this afternoon.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on February 21 announced the imposition of property tax in the urban local bodies (ULBs) of the union territory, thus ending the speculations on the matter rife for around a year now. The property tax, 5% for residential property and 6% for non-residential property will be imposed from April 1.
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Gupta said that the tax is being imposed without taking the stakeholders on board.
“This reflects an attitude that the administration can impose anything on the public. The Chamber has always opposed such things. People of Jammu have been asking us why we are silent on property tax. We have been waiting that administration would wake up and hold consultations with the representatives, but it seems that government does not care,” said Gupta.
“This (property tax) is a prerogative of municipalities but the way it has been imposed upon us is not acceptable. I have appealed for a complete bandh on Saturday in opposition to the property tax. All the markets will remain shut down on Saturday,” he announced.
Claiming that the Bandh call has support from all relevant stakeholders, Gupta said that the property tax should have been imposed by an elected government and urban local bodies.
He also hit out at Jammu Municipal Corporation Mayor Rajinder Sharma for his claims of no property tax in Jammu and asked the public to question their elected representative in the ULBs.
Sharma had announced in December that there would be no property tax imposed in Jammu. The BJP had even endorsed the same on its official twitter handle the same day saying ‘No Property Tax in Jammu’.
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