THE imposition of property tax in Jammu and Kashmir is facing stiff criticism from the people and political parties. More so in Jammu division where the move has also triggered sporadic public protests and severe opposition from civil society groups. National Conference leader Omer Abdullah has asked the administration to leave this important decision for an elected government to decide, saying there should be “no taxation without representation.” The PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti in a hard-hitting statement said that the tax was part of a plan to impoverish the people of the Union Territory. Similarly in Jammu, the tax has been opposed by parties other than the BJP. Democratic Azad Party leader Ghulam Nazi Azad has urged the administration to postpone the imposition of the tax for a few years till the economic situation in the union territory improves. Congress has also opposed the measure.
In a related development, the mayors of the twin capitals of the Union Territory have also spoken out against the tax. Srinagar City Mayor, Junaid Azim Mattu, termed the step “arbitrary” saying that it was not approved by elected Urban Local Body. Jammu Mayor, Rajinder Sharma, said that the property tax was imposed by the administration and not by the Jammu Municipal Committee.
The property tax follows the still ongoing campaign to retrieve the government land occupied by people which too has generated a deep public unease. The administration in its defense has said that by retrieving government land it was only doing its job. No less than Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has reassured the people that only the big land grabbers will be targeted and that the poor people will be spared. The land being retrieved includes the Roshni land, which was earlier handed over by the previous governments to its occupiers under a scheme. The scheme, which was meant to raise Rs 25,000 crore to finance the purchase of hydropower projects from the centre by selling state land under unauthorized occupation turned out to be a damp squib. It has fetched only a few hundred crores since it was enacted in 2002 which makes the revenue earned from the land disproportionately less than the target. The administration is now citing this as a rationale to retrieve the land.
However, unlike the recovery of government land, levying a property tax touches everyone’s skin, so it is facing a bigger public backlash. It remains to be seen how the administration assuages the public anger. At the same time it is true that considering the setback suffered by J&K’s economy over the last few years, it would be difficult for people to pay the tax now.
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