Deputy mayor protests against hike in property tax, resigns from panel

In her resignation statement, Mehta questioned the legitimacy of further meetings of the House Tax Committee, stating that there is “no justification left” after the property tax rates were hiked without prior discussion within the committee.

She criticised the procedural bypass, alleging that the matter was never brought before the committee and was instead directly presented in the House meeting by the mayor, without proper planning or consultation.

Blaming the mayor, BJP councillors and senior administrative officials, Mehta accused them of deliberate collusion to facilitate the approval of the new tax structure. “This was done in a planned manner to legally pave the way for the administration to impose taxes at will,” she said.

The deputy mayor also lashed out at the BJP, accusing it of hypocrisy.

“Now that public anger is surging across the city, BJP councillors are shedding crocodile tears and pretending to oppose the move by offering to resign,” she said. According to Mehta, these gestures are meaningless in the light of their earlier support for the tax hike.

She claimed that the mayor and BJP councillors appear helpless and powerless in front of the administration, exposing what she termed a serious disconnect between the local body and the officials of the Chandigarh Administration, allegedly emboldened under the central BJP government.

Taking a dig at the Administration, Mehta pointed out that it too is listed among property tax defaulters, owing crores in unpaid dues.

She added that if the administration paid its own taxes, it would provide substantial relief to the financially stressed Municipal Corporation.

Concluding her statement, Mehta reiterated that the Chandigarh Congress would continue to oppose the “anti-people” tax hike, vowing to raise the issue on public platforms and support citizens affected by the decision.

The BJP councillors and the Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla had in a meeting held recently at the BJP headquarters also considered collective resignation as a mark of protest against the administration’s unilateral decisions.

Babla too had said earlier that “the increase in property tax has to be rolled back”. “Without consulting the councillors, the property tax has been increased, which will not be tolerated. We have been asking the Administration for funds, which they are not allocating us. All the expenses are on us, nothing is going right in the city, roads are not in good condition, there is shortage of water,” said Babla.