Property Tax will not be imposed: Mayor

JMC Mayor, Dy Mayor and Commissioner during proceedings of General House meeting on Friday.
JMC Mayor, Dy Mayor and Commissioner during proceedings of General House meeting on Friday.

‘Why there is repeated posting of same Inspectors as SHOs’

Sanjev K. Sharma
JAMMU, Dec 16: Putting speculations to rest the newly elected Mayor Rajinder Sharma of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) today in his maiden General House Meeting (GHM) of the Urban Local Body (ULB) as Presiding Officer announced that no Property Tax will be imposed in Jammu.

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The two days session of GHM started this morning with Question Hour which was followed by discussion on drug addiction, water supply system and traffic problems in the city.
During Question Hour, BJP firebrand Councillor, Gurmeet Kour Randhawa stood and said she got a call that some JMC team led by one Sami Wahid was on visit to her Ward 69 for survey.
“I replied Wahid that no one will pay the House Tax,” Gurmeet Kour said in the House adding that the JMC Commissioner should make it clear if Property Tax will be imposed in Jammu or not.
Rajni Bala of Congress also joined to support Gurmeet Kour.
Over this the Mayor intervened and announced that no Property Tax will be imposed in Jammu and this announcement was received by sloganeering like “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and thumping of the desks.
Gurmeet Kour said that JMC may hike development charges but Property Tax shall not be allowed.
Earlier there were questions by Inderjeet Kour Randhawa of Congress, Rajni Bala of Congress, Ashok Manhas of BJP, Mohinder Kumar of BJP, Rekha Manhas of BJP, Rashpaul of Congress and others.
The question hour was followed by discussion on increasing drug addiction and trafficking.
Speaking during the discussion in his unique style of state-forward talks Ghar Singh Chib said why the government is allowing more and more liquor shops in Jammu.
“Two liquor shops were opened in my Mohalla. We forced their closure but the then DC Jammu intervened and got these open,” he said.
Over this the Mayor intervened and said that alcoholism is different from drug addiction which prompted Ghar Singh to retaliate saying: “Dono He Se Nasha Hota Hai (both cause intoxication).”
The Mayor again stepped in to say that alcoholism is also wrong.
He questioned the repeated posting of same Inspectors as Station House Officers (SHOs) at prominent Police Stations of Jammu district and claimed that this culture has a close nexus with narcotics business which needs to be probed.
Former Mayor, Chander Mohan Gupta, Jaideep Sharma, Kapil Chib, Pramod Kapahi-all from BJP and others also participated in the discussion.
This was followed by discussion on water problems in the city and traffic issues.
In discussion on water issues Jeet Angral of BJP said that new tube-wells should be dug and the old ones should be repaired to meet water crisis to some extent.
During discussion on traffic problems, Democratic Azad Party Councillor, Sobat Ali said that minibuses cause jams as they stop at any place and there is no control over them even if these vehicles are rashly driven.
“At Narwal Naka long traffic jams are caused and the problem increases in three months of winters when people from Poonch, Doda, Srinagar and other areas come here,” he maintained adding that near Wave Mall opposite to Sunjwan Morh the traffic is made one way in winters which causes traffic chaos.
Jeet Angral said it takes three minutes to reach Muthi from Canal Head via flyover but takes 40 minutes from Jewel to reach Canal Head due to traffic jams.
He demanded removal of road divider from GGM Science College to Government Girls Hr. Sec. School as students drive on wrong side to be in time.
The meeting hall was unprecedentedly decorated this time with portraits of Cave Shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji, Fort Shrine of Bawe Wali Mata, Maharaja Hari Singh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Pandit Prem Nath Dogra and Brigadier Usman fixed on the walls.
Proceedings of the GHM were also witnessed by J&K BJP president, Ravinder Raina; Vibodh Gupta, BJP State general secretary and BJP spokesman, R.S Pathania.