Hike in fees by HDMC irks many

The hike in fees for permission to construct buildings effected by the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) is facing a stiff resistance. A large number of people participated in the signature campaign launched against the fee hike by Leader of Opposition in the Council Deepak Chinchore.

Freedom fighters, teachers, writers, professionals and representatives from various organisations participated in the campaign and voiced their dissent against the fee hike.

Veteran freedom fighter Krishna Dixit inaugurated the campaign. Centenarian G G Dodwad, pediatrician Rajan Deshpande, Congress workers Vasant Arkachar, Yaseen Haveripet Sharanappa Kotagi and others participated.

On the occasion, Deepak Chinchore said the HDMC’s decision hit the common man dreaming of owning a house hard.

The HDMC has proposed to hike the building permission fee from the existing Rs 4 per sq metre to Rs 30 per sq metre, for the permission to build a compound wall, the fee would be hiked from Rs 4 to Rs 15. For site inspection, the charges have been steeply increased and now the HDMC will charge Rs 5,000 for a site measuring over 300 sq metre which was Rs 1,000 earlier.

Besides, the HDMC also has fees for permission to sink a borewell, repair gutters and roads. “The HDMC, which has failed on all fronts to provide better roads and drainage facility does not have any moral right to introduce new tax and hike fees,” Deepak charged.

At present the HDMC generates revenues of Rs 30 lakh per day. However, with the introduction of the new tax proposals, the revenues of the HDMC will increase five-fold and it now stands at Rs 1.78 crore every day, he informed.

He threatened that the Congress party will boycott the general body meeting and also go in for a legal battle if the HDMC does not roll back the fees.

He appealed to the citizens not to pay the property tax till the HDMC withdrew the hike and sought citizen’s support for the indefinite stir to be staged by the Opposition party.