'BJP's MCD Govt carrying out extortion in name of User Charges,' says AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj

New Delhi [India], May 20 (ANI): The Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in MCD House, Ankush Narang, slammed the BJP-led MCD government, highlighting that the BJP-appointed MCD Commissioner bypassed the AAP-led MCD House's approved proposal to waive House Tax for properties up to 100 square yards and halve it for properties up to 500 square yards, according to press release.
Instead, they stated that user charges were forcibly imposed on Delhiites despite the absence of proper garbage collection systems. Most households still pay private individuals to lift waste, while garbage dumps continue to exist across colonies. AAP councillors have declared that their protest against these arbitrary charges will continue from the streets to the MCD House.
During a press briefing, AAP's Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj called out the BJP-led central government and its appointed MCD Commissioner for bypassing the democratic mandate and burdening the public with arbitrary user charges. "When the MCD House met under AAP's majority and passed the budget, a special demand raised by our councillors was included--to waive off house tax for properties up to 100 square yards, whether residential or commercial, and to reduce house tax by 50 per cent for properties up to 500 square yards," he said.
Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that despite these measures being passed in the House, the Commissioner failed to implement them and instead imposed an unjustified user charge on Delhi residents in the name of municipal solid waste management. This charge often exceeded the actual tax--if a property's tax was Rs. 2500, the user charge levied was even higher.

He explained that before the AAP came to power in the MCD, the policy of levying user charges had already been approved by the then BJP-led MCD government. However, it was never implemented. "When the AAP came to power in the MCD, the BJP's favoured MCD Commissioner forcibly implemented the user charge policy that was created during the BJP's tenure and imposed it on the people of Delhi," said Saurabh Bharadwaj.
The senior AAP leader added that just yesterday, in response to this, "AAP's Leader of Opposition in the MCD House, Ankush Narang, along with all AAP councillors, confronted the current BJP Mayor and demanded that this arbitrary extortion under the name of user charges be withdrawn immediately."
Meanwhile, LoP in the MCD House, Ankush Narang, stated, "Under the name of user charge, the BJP is extorting arbitrary taxes from the people of Delhi. If a person's property tax amounts to Rs. 2,500, the user charge itself comes to nearly Rs. 5,000. This means that in addition to the Rs. 2,500 property tax, one has to pay around Rs. 5,000 more as a user charge."
He emphasised that this was not just an administrative decision but a matter of policy and finance. "Before implementing the user charge, it was mandatory to present it in the MCD House. But the BJP's favoured Commissioner implemented it arbitrarily without presenting it in the House," said Ankush Narang. "He knew that if this proposal was brought before the House, the Aam Aadmi Party, being in power, would oppose it and not allow it to pass."
Ankush Narang also highlighted the state of waste management in the city: "Even today, in most areas of Delhi, MCD concessionaires do not collect garbage from outside people's homes. Residents pay private individuals from their own pockets to have their garbage collected."
Ankush Narang further said that even today, there are open waste dumping points, vulnerable spots, and FCTS (Fixed Compactor Transfer Stations) across Delhi where large amounts of garbage are collected, and these are situated right in residential areas. Residents in these areas have to endure unbearable stench and a severely degraded environment. Despite all this, the BJP has failed to shut down these dumps or eliminate vulnerable points, and they've been unable to ensure 100% cleanliness."
He said, "Instead of resolving these fundamental issues, the BJP-backed Commissioner imposed User Charges on Delhi's people. On May 6, I wrote a letter to the Mayor demanding immediate withdrawal of these User Charges. But to this day, the Mayor has not responded. If the Mayor doesn't bother replying to a letter from the Leader of Opposition, what can common people expect?"
Ankush Narang continued, "Following this, we submitted a proposal for discussion in the general House meeting scheduled for May 21-- that's tomorrow. In that proposal, we demanded that User Charges must be scrapped. Right now, the biggest issue in Delhi is User Charges and House Tax."
He added, "When the AAP had formed the government in MCD, we passed a proposal in the House to completely waive House Tax for properties up to 100 square yards, and reduce it by 50% for properties up to 500 square yards. That proposal was never implemented. But the BJP didn't hesitate for a moment in burdening people with unjustified User Charges."
Ankush Narang said, "Our new proposal -- to withdraw these charges -- wasn't even allowed on the agenda. If the BJP truly feels accountable to Delhi's citizens, they must answer: why is this burden of User Charges still being imposed?"
He said, "We gheraoed the Mayor and handed over another memorandum demanding that these charges be withdrawn immediately. But the BJP has not rolled them back."
Ankush Narang added, "People are confused -- should they deposit House Tax along with User Charges or not? When Raja Iqbal Singh became Mayor, he had stated in his speech that User Charges would be rolled back immediately. But now, they hide behind the excuse of the Standing Committee. If the Standing Committee never implemented these charges, how can it now be responsible for rolling them back?"
He said, "To the 'Bharatiya Jumla Party', we say this -- stop the jumla even on User Charges. Provide immediate relief to Delhiites and roll back these unjust charges. And until the BJP rolls back User Charges and fully waives House Tax for the current year -- while allowing people who haven't paid for previous years to just pay for this one -- the Aam Aadmi Party's councillors will continue their protest. Whether inside the House or on the streets, we will relentlessly raise the issue of User Charges and Property Tax." (ANI)