The government's proposal to tax residents to arrange funds for expansion of the Delhi metro hasn't gone down well with the people. Residents said the argument that the value of a property goes up and quality of life improves in areas with metro connectivity is highly misplaced and does not hold truin most areas. More often than not, residents added, proximity to metro stations leads to nuisance and chaos.
"Thanks to the metro station next door, there is lot of nuisance around my house all the time. Rickshaws and autos cause traffic snarls and there are unknown people moving around all the time making us feel insecure," said Sudhir Kakkar, a resident of Rohini Sector 13.
While the government is working on a plan to levy additional property tax and betterment tax on properties along the proposed metro corridors in phase 3, the municipal valuation committee has also prepared a report on re-categorisation of residential colonies and upgrade those that fall within half-a-kilometre of a metro line.
"If increased property tax is the price we will have to pay for a metro line near our houses then we don't want metro corridors anywhere near our house," said RK Jain, a resident of Krishna Nagar, which is likely to be connected by metro in phase 3.
with thanks : Hindustan Times : link above for detailed news.