Reconsider imposing property tax in J-K, leave decision for elected govt: Azad

Democratic Progressive Azad Party Chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday said the Jammu and Kashmir administration should reconsider its decision of imposing property tax in the Union Territory and leave such decisions for an elected governmentI request the government to reconsider this issue and leave it for the elected government Azad told reporters at the partys office in SonwarThere have been no elections in Jammu and Kashmir for nine years and the people have been waiting for the conduct of elections for all this time so that such decisions are taken by an elected government the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister saidUnfortunately the laws framed by the elected governments in the assemblies are being revoked My government framed the Roshni Act I did not frame it in my home It was vetted by the Law department and the Cabinet it was then discussed in the assembly it was a coalition government of many parties and the opposition parties also voted for it and the law was enacted he saidOnce an assembly or the Parliament frames a law it cannot be revoked like this or by a governor Azad addedHe said the revocation of the Act affected about 70 per cent of the people in Jammu as well as Kashmir Hindus as well as MuslimsAcknowledging that there could be loopholes in the schemes implementation the former Union minister questioned which schemes in the country or the world could be implemented 100 per cent in the right mannerAlso Read Put property tax imposition on hold till economic situation improves in Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Nabi AzadIt is not the Cabinet or the assembly that implements it on the ground There are many levels right from the patwari to the secretary and there can be some misuse But there are commissions like Vigilance and courts to see whether there is anyone who has misused the scheme through corruption or something else About 10 per cent of the people will always misuse any scheme Hang them but you cannot end the scheme for the 90 per cent he addedIt is not the right of the current administration in Jammu and Kashmir to impose the property tax Azad saidIt is the right of an elected government Governors rule whether in the Congress or the BJP is temporary and not permanent There have to be elections and an elected government has to take such decisions he saidHowever he added even if there was an elected government including his partys it would be impossible to impose taxes in the current situationI will also think 10 times about imposing taxes even as I need taxes for development The state of Jammu and Kashmir has been bearing militancy for the last 33 years It has cost many lives unemployment has risen and is more than 10 times than in the rest of the country he saidThe former Congress leader said the government should not feel bad and rollback the decision to impose property taxEven if there is any other government in place it should not consider imposing this tax for five to six years Ultimately the people have to pay this tax But first the government should make the people be able to pay tax There is no developmental work going on our economic situation is worse Let our tourism horticulture handicraft sectors get stabilised first he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever