New Delhi, Mar 23 (IANS): The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claimed on Tuesday that the BJP-ruled South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has brought in a proposal to increase property tax by 34 per cent.

Senior AAP leader and chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj addressing mediapersons on Tuesday, said, "We got to know that the BJP ruled SDMC is all set to increase the property tax. The SDMC has brought a proposal to increase the property tax by 34%. The AAP calls it very unfortunate decision to increase the property tax in every category."

The AAP leader further slammed the BJP-led SDMC for waiving six months' licence fee for outdoor advertisements for contractors and making up for this loss by increasing property tax for residents. He said the Kejriwal-led Delhi Government has reduced the circle rate by 20 per cent while the BJP-ruled SDMC is proposing to raise property tax.

However, the Leader of House in SDMC Narendra Chawla denied AAP's claim, accusing it of making baseless allegations against the MCD. Talking to IANS, Chawla said, "In our budget, we have clearly mentioned that house taxes will be the same like the previous year.

However, the SDMC claimed the matter has been brought before the house meeting that will be held on Wednesday. "Before making false allegation, AAP leaders must know that if any proposal is already rejected by the Standing Committee, then it would be listed for rejection in the House Meeting. Hence, the matter is listed for rejection purpose only," Chawla said.