Roll back user charge or face stir: BJP to MCD

Senior BJP councillors, led by Leader of Opposition in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Raja Iqbal Singh, staged a protest outside the Mayor’s office on Tuesday, demanding the immediate rollback of the newly imposed user charge by the AAP-led civic administration.

The protesting BJP leaders raised slogans against Mayor Mahesh Kumar and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, accusing the ruling party of “quietly” imposing an additional charge on Delhi residents, in addition to the property tax. “This is nothing but loot in the name of governance. The AAP government has imposed this charge stealthily, in collusion with officials. We will not tolerate it,” said Singh.

Calling the move “a new tool of corruption,” Singh alleged that the AAP had shifted its corrupt practices from the government to the MCD after losing power in the Assembly. “The CAG report has already exposed their misdeeds. Now they are using MCD to impose financial hardship on honest taxpayers,” he added.

According to Singh, the user charge will impact lakhs of homeowners in the city, with fees potentially surpassing the amount they currently pay in property tax. “Even those owning small houses of 25-30 square yards will have to pay Rs 600 annually. In total, residents could end up paying as much as Rs 60,000 under this new tax regime,” he claimed.

Delhi