Rs 25 per toilet tax? Himachal Pradesh's 'bizarre' water bill sparks row
Keep your toilets locked, if you have too many, as the Himachal Pradesh government has decided to tax its people on the basis of the number of toilet seats they have in their houses.
The Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government issued a notification on Thursday for charging water and sewerage bills from the residents. Out of Rs 100 water charge, the 'toilet tax' will be 25 per cent per residence.
This has led to an uproar with the BJP flaying the Congress governmnet in the hill state over it "bizarre" and "unbelievable" tax.
They have blasting the Himachal government for imposing a Rs 25 tax per toilet in the houses of those residing in urban areas.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "unbelievable if true".
"Unbelievable, if true! Whilst PM Modi ji, builds Swachhata as a people's movement, here is Congress taxing people for toilets! Shame that they didn't provide good sanitation during their time, but this step will shame the country," she posted on X.
BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya termed the move as "bizarre" and sarcastically said: "This is what a crap government does."
The Himachal Pradesh CM also told media persons that a Rs 100 charge was applicable per family, however, it was not mandatory.
"Even big hotel chains have been brought under the purview of this new tax. Those questioning the move must understand the economics first," said CM Sukhu.
The fee for taking a domestic sewerage connection in Himachal is Rs 500 while the commercial rate is Rs 1,000. With the new government charges, those residing in urban areas will have to end up paying more. The state has a total of 5 municipal corporations, 29 municipalities and 17 Nagar Panchayats.
With IANS inputs
