Jammu, Aug 18: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference has accused the government of engaging in exploitative practices, claiming that the collection of toll at Sarore Plaza and the imposition of property tax are undemocratic and arbitrary.
Questioning the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government whether these are the ‘Achhe Din’ promised by it before elections, Rattan Lal Gupta, Provincial President JKNC Jammu asserted that collecting money in the garb of toll at Sarore and imposing property tax upon the people in Jammu and Kashmir is “totally illegal and unconstitutional”. “The government is resorting to open loot of the common people by collecting the money at Sarore Toll Plaza, he said.
In a statement issued here, the senior NC leader said that money collected at Toll plazas is used for proper maintenance of roads and the condition of the road in the vicinity of the plaza is highly deplorable despite being part of the Jammu Pathankot National Highway which is connecting the J&K with the rest of the country.
Rattan Lal said that the washing away of the vital Tarnah Bridge quite recently which led to the suspension of the traffic along vital Jammu Pathankot road has completely exposed the government’s contention on the issue. He said even the concerned Union Minister Nitin Gadkari mentioned that this toll plaza within the 60 km range is illegal.
“Mr Gadhari issued directions to the concerned authorities that such illegal toll plazas must be removed immediately. Despite all these facts being known to the people at large the NAHI Authorities continue to collect huge money at the Sarore Toll Plaza,” he said.
Gupta accused the BJP government at the Centre as well as the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory of being highly arbitrary in terms of thrusting “multiple miseries” upon the common people through “anti-people” decisions and measures.
“The imposition of Property Tax is yet another glaring example of burdening the people of the UT by adding this tax to their liabilities despite people being unable to come out of the economic crunch due to prolonged terrorism and Covid crisis as yet,” he said, adding, “The BJP will definitely pay the price for its misdeeds as the people will teach it a lesson in the upcoming Parliamentary, Assembly, ULB and Panchayati elections.”
