Mayor Takes Charge: House Tax Committee Sparks Action!

The mayor finally creates a committee on house taxes.

Chandigarh: The House Tax Assessment Committee was established on Thursday by the mayor of Chandigarh, Anup Gupta. Opposition political parties, however, have criticized the decision to create a committee at the close of the current mayoral term. Given that not a single MC subcommittee has been established since the mayor took office in January 2023, it appears that the Chandigarh mayor is taking this action to protect his reputation from criticism.

Two MC representatives and nine elected municipal council members make up this subcommittee of eleven. Four members of the BJP, one each from the AAP, Congress, and SAD, and two from the nominated municipal councilors make up the nine elected members. Furthermore, the member convener for calling the meeting is the superintendent of the MC's property tax branch, and the joint municipal commissioner is also a member.

There are twelve subcommittees in all, and three of these are essential and required committees: the Road Committee, the Water Supply and Sewerage Disposal Committee, and the House Tax Assessment Panel. Every month, these committees are required to have one meeting. The House Tax Assessment Committee is the only one of these three panels without funding authority beyond Rs 25 lakhs. The other two committees do. The nine subcommittees that remain, in addition to the required committees, are essential in starting development projects since several of them have the authority to approve agenda items as well as financing authority. These committees oversee modest initiatives, which lessens the workload for the general house by passing and monitoring them.

When asked, MC general house opposition leader Damanpreet Singh remarked, "This is nothing but hilarious, and there is no meaning in making a committee this time." The fact that the committee was established in December 2023, yet the order copy dates back to January 2023, is a humorous juxtaposition as well. All right, the present mayor's tenure is set to expire in January. The mayor has made this entire move to cover up his faults.

However, Gurpreet Singh, a Congress councilor, stated that the mayor was making a mockery of the system because there was no need to form the committee at this point. Additionally, the committee is comprised of nine members, four of whom are nominated by the BJP, and one member each from the opposition parties. All that this departing mayor is bringing with him is failure.