Bengaluru, Aug 10 (IANS) Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka on Monday accused the Congress government of burdening Bengaluru residents with additional charges in the name of keeping the city clean.

Reacting to the Greater Bengaluru Authority’s (GBA) decision to levy sanitation charges on vacant sites, Ashoka said there was no opposition to keeping Bengaluru clean and beautiful, but questioned the need to impose additional financial burdens on citizens.

“Bengaluru needs to be kept clean and beautiful, but is this the kind of administration that cuts into the pockets of Bengaluru residents in the name of cleanliness?” Ashoka asked, targeting Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

Ashoka claimed that under the new order, owners of a 20 x 30‑foot site would have to pay a sanitation charge of Rs 6,700. He alleged that the charge would rise to Rs 7,700 if the site had a compound wall, while an additional Rs 19,200 would reportedly be collected for waste transportation.

Questioning the rationale behind imposing such charges when citizens already pay property tax every year, Ashoka targeted Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda and asked why additional fees were being imposed on property owners.

He alleged that the Congress government had already placed the burden of several new taxes, fees and cess on the people and was now turning vacant sites into another source of revenue.

“Is this development, or is it another move by your government to cut into the pockets of Bengaluru’s middle class?” Ashoka asked.

The BJP leader also accused the Congress government of treating Bengaluru as a source of revenue and said the city was not the “private ATM” of the Congress party.

Ashoka said Bengaluru needed “Freedom from Waste”, but more importantly, needed “Freedom from Loot”. He alleged that people would reject what he described as the government’s “loot guarantee” in the upcoming Greater Bengaluru Authority elections.

He further claimed that Bengaluru residents would give a fitting response to the government through the upcoming GBA elections. He said the elections would lay the foundation for “Freedom From Congress” in Karnataka.

It can be recalled that owners of vacant sites within the GBA limits have been given a deadline of August 15 to clear accumulated waste, garbage and debris, failing which civic authorities will undertake the cleaning and recover the cost from property owners.

Cleaning charges range from Rs 6,700 to Rs 47,700 depending on site size, while waste transportation charges go up to Rs 1.28 lakh.

The GBA issued the public notice on Monday as part of its “Freedom from Waste” campaign aimed at keeping Bengaluru clean and hygienic.

According to the notice, owners must ensure that their vacant sites are cleared of waste and debris on or before August 15. The waste must be disposed of only at designated locations identified and notified by municipal authorities.

–IANS

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