Traders protest against MC for using ‘force’ for tax recovery

Our Correspondent

Abohar, August 26

The Municipal Council (MC) staff had to face the ire of businessmen over the locking of a sweets shop on the Circular Road here to recover property tax. Scores of people gheraoed MC employees and raised slogans against the BJP-ruled council for adopting coercive measures.

Later, former president of the District Youth Congress Sandeep Jakhar reached the site and assured businessmen that the MC would not be allowed to harass citizens who had been denied basic amenities for the past six or seven years.

Protesters said the MC had been in the news for wrong reasons ever since the BJP took control about six years back.

The Special Audit Report and inquiries conducted by the Regional Deputy Director, Local Bodies Department had last year detected serious cases of embezzlement in the council and recommended that criminal cases should be registered against the erring officials but no FIR was lodged in the City Police Station, they said.

The Executive Officer of the MC had told the State Information Commission during the hearing of complaints made under the Right to Information Act that official record of the past few years had gone missing. Even as the Commission had asked the Director, Local Bodies, to initiate proceedings against the concerned staff/officials, the issue was not considered in any of the council meetings so far.

The council, they alleged, had become almost bankrupt due to the alleged corruption and malpractices but the staff was harassing citizens selectively “to put a lid on their misdeeds”.