Pimpri News : PCMC faces criticism over arrears charged on user fee for 2019-20, revoke decision residents demand
In a controversial move, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has deposited an amount of Rs. 540 in the income tax bill of income holders as arrears of user fee for 2019-20 in the name of garbage collection. The PCMC has also been collecting and charging such a fee in the annual tax income sheet. This decision has been criticized as unfair by citizens and activists alike.
While municipal corporations like Mumbai, Thane, Pune, and Nashik do not charge any user fee in the name of garbage collection, the PCMC‘s decision has raised questions on the rationale behind this move. The citizens of the city already pay lakhs of rupees to the municipal corporation in the form of taxes, and despite that, the PCMC has not provided them with adequate basic facilities.
The Commissioner has been urged to revoke this decision immediately, as the citizens feel that they are being robbed by the municipality through various taxes and fees. The PCMC‘s decision to charge arrears of user fee for 2019-20 has been seen as a move to loot the citizens of the city in the name of administrative rule.
Activists have demanded that the PCMC focus on providing better basic facilities to citizens instead of burdening them with additional fees. The PCMC needs to understand that the citizens have already paid a substantial amount in taxes and additional fees, and charging them for user fees is unjustifiable.
The citizens of Pimpri Chinchwad hope that the Commissioner will take note of their concerns and cancel the order issued by the PCMC.