Dear Mr, Vohra ji,
As you are fully aware that the MCD since its trifurcation has become financially unsound and is unable to meet its duties and functions. Poor people like sweepers etc. are not being paid their legitimate salaries etc, but expect them to do their duties diligently. How can you expect the poor people who entirely depend on their wages based on the toil to meet their basic requirements like food, shelter etc. Why the MLAs and Councillors contribute their mite. sacrifice a little of their comforts or forego their luxuries for the time being to mop the resources of the MCD to enable them to pay their salaries! NO, we cannot expect as they are made people's representatives to make speeches and false promises but not to deliver the promises made and meet the requirements of poor people!
There are many ways to mop the resources of the MCD. One of them being the property tax. If the tax is collected on time i.e. by the end of April each year, hold camps for the purpose in all recognized colonies where the RWAs are only too willing to help and interest earned thereon could increase the balance in their coffers. It is learnt that not more than 60% owners are paying the property tax, what is the difficulty in arranging to collect from the rest by making all out efforts to do so! Secondly, I consider that this being the main source of income, apart from others, why not uniformally and periodically increase the rate of tax on a reasonable basis without giving any rebate to the tax payers. With the increase in the cost all round, this little sacrifice has to be done by all of us! This is my personal opinion. There is no harm in charging parking fee of a reasonable amount from the owners of vehicles, which are normally parked in the vacant spaces in front of their residential units by removing all encroachments, including kitchen gardens etc. uniformally without exception, restricting the number of vehicles that could accommodate within their premises, as otherwise they have to pay hefty amount, if they park their cars etc. at other places on a regular basis. This should be considered as an encroachment. A time has come that while approving colonies for residential accommodation, they do have enough parking space which should be depicted in the approved plan, failing which no permssion will be given, like in many other countries e.g. Japan, Singapore etc. We are having an acute shortage of space for the purpose of parking of vehicles. A time has come that we may have to sacrifice even parks, nursery plots etc. earmarked for the purpose to facilitate parking of cars, which are taking place unauthorizedly in many colonies. We have find ways and means which are feasible on an immediate basis to solve the problem, which is mounting up, creating law and order problem in colonies on a daily basis!
Of course morfe innovative suggestions could be made but they should be practical, feasible of adoption on an urgent basis and could be considered for adoption, even if necessary on a nominal payment!
With regards,
TK Balu/Anand Vihar
