When its services are so poor, why is the BBMP preparing to levy 15 per cent of the property tax as Solid Waste Management cess? What is it promising to do with the additional amount collected? It cannot assure the people that it will manage the garbage any better even with a higher cess.
Take the library cess it is collecting. None of it has been paid to the libraries department. If I am not wrong, the BBMP owes the libraries department around Rs 300 crore. When the libraries department is in such a poor state that it does not have any money to buy new books, why is it not getting this amount due to it? What is the guarantee that this will not be repeated with the higher SWM cess the BBMP is planning to levy?
What is the service it is planning to offer with the money collected? If a product costs Rs 10, it should have value equal to the amount. But what value will the people get for the extra money they shell out?
The basic duty of any municipality is to keep the city clean and manage its garbage effectively. But the BBMP is simply overburdening the people with this cess. While it may increase the revenue of the cash- strapped agency, there is unlikely to be any change in its services. And looking at the poor management of garbage in the city, how can any citizen come forward to pay a heavier cess?
But should it be levied anyway, the amount collected as SWM cess should go into a separate account and be used for the purpose intended.
