Daijiworld Media Network- Mangaluru (VP)

Mangaluru, Mar 1: Praveen Alva, opposition party leader, Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) slammed the MCC’s decision to levy tax on empty lands.

Addressing a press conference held on Friday, March 1, at the Congress office, Mallikatte, he said, “What happened yesterday, everyone knows. The mayor of the city left the meeting twice and never returned. They could have discussed with us, but without informing us and without considering the people's concerns, he went inside his chamber. Corporators and everyone were sitting for hours, and then they turned off the lights. This is not the way a mayor should behave.

"By chanting the slogan 'Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas' during the elections, and after that, there is no 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’. They promised the citizens that when the double-engine party comes to power, they will assist them. They visited each and every house, and later it became a triple engine, but now people understand that those words were false. What saddens us is that it is also imposing taxes on building compounds and empty spaces of residential or commercial properties. We told them during that time to go together to Bengaluru and resolve these issues. Even Premananda was silent during that time. They claimed they called us along with Shashidar Hegde to resolve this issue, but it is false. In 2013, we were using the 2008-09 guidelines, and we did not impose tax on empty land. The issue of water shortage significantly increased when the BJP was in power. When they asked for votes, they provided a one-year concession, but then they increased it,” he said.

When asked about the decision to impose tax on empty land and whether increasing tax is wrong, Praveen Alva stated, "They have increased it by 3%. This decision was taken by the previous government. Every 3 years, the tax increases slightly, and around 10% of the people pay their taxes early. Until now, no one had imposed tax on empty land. What the commissioner did was under the direction of the state government, but I am asking why their own party members were silent. Why are they claiming that the tax is increased because of the Congress?"

Shashidhar Hegde, A C Vinayraj, Abdul Rauf, Naveen D’Souza, Anil Poojary, Shamshuddin, Keshav and others were present.