Raman Suri
Abrogation of Article 370, extension of 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution of India to Jammu and Kashmir and subsequently, an administrative approval by the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has paved a way for the imposition of property tax – a tax that’s levied on real estate owners by Panchayats, Municipalities and Municipal Corporations to upkeep and maintain local civic amenities in every state and Union Territory (UT) including that of ours. The tax levied here is quite less as compared to elsewhere in the country, to enable our people get acclimatized to paying their dues for raising their living standards.
However, the regional political parties joined by Congress are opposing this levy of property tax in Jammu and Kashmir for multiple reasons, their survival being the prime one. Despite knowing that Form ‘H’ of the Office of Assessing Authority, Urban Immovable Property Tax in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was used to file property tax by people till 1997, these people are deliberately misleading the common masses. According to property tax statements filed by individuals, Section 3 of the Jammu and Kashmir Urban Immovable Property Tax Act 1962 enabled authorities to assess tax on properties here in J&K.
These political parties, during their regimes, had been asking for money from respective Union Governments and never cared to even submit the utilisation certificates after spending that money lavishly. This money was in addition to the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) that used to come to the erstwhile state for managing our affairs. Today, when efforts are afoot to make Jammu and Kashmir self-reliant and help it earn and spend on its own, a huge hue and cry is being raised and people are being misled for their vested interests. This is also being done to prick the Union Government, which is trying to bring an order into the system of governance.
Now that every single service including water and electricity supply besides better civic amenities have started surfacing in the Union Territory (UT), taxes like property tax, door to door collection charges, GST besides income tax are being levied nominally to make the system function properly and most importantly, to make the UT become self-sufficient. Those opposed to these developments are trying to create a ruckus and misguide people so that they do not pay taxes, which will ultimately lead to disruption of development in cities and towns.
Let’s have a look at the mindset of these political parties to reveal more facts and find who is opposing property tax and misguiding people?
Aam Admi Party (AAP): Turncoats, who have joined AAP, are vocal against property tax in J&K while maintaining a criminal silence on the same being levied in their own ruled states like Punjab and UT of Delhi. They are on the forefront of this opposition of misleading masses by making a huge hue and cry despite the fact that their Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is collecting taxes from people and Bhagwant Maan is collecting property tax through local bodies in Punjab.
National Conference (NC): This political party, which is being run by a family since decades, was the first to delay local body polls in Jammu and Kashmir and when in power, it never cared to extend the 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution of India to Jammu and Kashmir and if at all it was done, the same was not implemented in its letter and spirit. Strangely, these dynasts who were always against decentralisation of powers, even went to the extent of boycotting 2018 Panchayat polls merely because they never wanted democracy to percolate down up to the grassroots level.
Expecting these politicians to educate masses about paying their taxes to enable Jammu and Kashmir become self-reliant or see massive development is like swimming against the water current. The same National Conference (NC) had also boycotted?the 1996 Indian General Elections, and also allowed elected municipal corporations to lapse without holding elections to the same in 2010 when Omar Abdullah was the Chief Minister. These people who did not care to decentralise powers when in office just can’t be expected to ask people to pay their property tax. Ask them from where will River Tawi view front in Jammu or amazingly re-done Lal Chowk in Srinagar maintain itself?
Indian National Congress (INC): Way back in 2005, elections to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) were held in Jammu and Kashmir after a gap of 23 years. These bodies were supposed to go to polls in 2010 but the then-Minister for Housing and Urban Development Department (H&UDD) Tara Chand did not care to hold elections to 74 Municipal Committees, 6 Municipal Councils and 2 major Municipal Corporations knowingly that it will empower common people and dilute his own powers.
The Congress leader, during the tenure of these ULBs, also did not bother to implement property tax or convince people to pay their taxes on time and make such institutions self-reliant bodies. The 73rd and 74th amendments extended to J&K was also a half-hearted effort wherein property tax was deliberately ignored and the Congress government always banked upon central funds to even buy the machinery needed for cleaning roads or managing civic amenities in ULBs.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP): Going against the very essence of democracy, PDP chief, another dynast chose to boycott the last ULBs for a simple reason that she too never wanted powers to go to the people. Late chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was quite assertive in holding elections to the Panchayats but he too ignored empowering the local self-governing institutions and kept them as mere dummies.
Political parties like People’s Conference (PC), National Panthers Party (NPP), Awami National Conference (ANC) or Democratic Azad Party (DAP) are non-entities and if they too are opposing property tax, then they must explain to the general masses as to why the people of Jammu and Kashmir who have their homes, apartments, flats, plots, shops or business establishments in Noida, Gurugram, Dwarka, Pune, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Kharar, Mohali, Panchkula, Palampur or any other city of India are paying property taxes without uttering a single word.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jammu (CCI, Jammu) and the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), BAR Association Jammu (BAJ), too are opposing the levy of property tax knowingly that there is no other way to generate revenue to make ULBs self-sufficient so that the much-needed beautiful cities are developed. KCCI has a plea that the economic scenario is not conducive to burden people. KCCI must realise that there would never be a right time for anything and for any good to take place, a beginning has to be made.
The kind of facilities that Jammu and Kashmir has started getting post abrogation of Article 370 were never there before. Today, cycle stands have come up, roads with beautiful flower beds are in making, ornamental street lights and steel bins are adding to the beauty of cities besides mega projects are in the offing. Money for these is sure to come from all of us and anyone opposing these taxes is doing no good to the nation as well as our UT, which has come out of the shackles of dynasts and is witnessing massive development at par with any other developed state and UT in the country. Once the people of Jammu and Kashmir begin to pay their taxes, a major share of central funds for urban development will also start to percolate here.
The concerns of CCI Jammu, KCCI, BAJ or any other political party that poor should be exempted, or taxes must not be levied on old-age homes or places of worship besides crematoriums and graveyards are no concerns as the government had taken care of these beforehand only. The government must also simplify the process, leaving no scope for harassment of the common man. Besides, it should follow the pattern of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to develop heritage areas in the city and exempt those buildings that have heritage values. Property tax will also be beneficial in maintaining residential areas as commercial activities there will either decrease or cease to exist. This is what everyone living in a pure residential area has been asking for as well.
LG Manoj Sinha too has already clarified that out of 5.20 lakh houses in Srinagar, Jammu and other municipal areas, 2.06 lakh houses are below 1,000 sq. feet, meaning they won’t be taxed or 40% of the people already stand exempted. So, from 1st April this year, people must not get fooled but should act wisely as this 1st April is going to become a wise day for Jammu & Kashmir.
(The writer is Bharatiya Janata Party J&K Executive Member)
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