Indefinite civic strike from Mar. 31
To protest the removal of octroi from five major corporations across the state, including Mumbai, union leader Sharad Rao has called for a massive indefinite agitation in all the five municipal corporations from midnight of March 31.
Apart from Mumbai, the workers of Thane, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Nagpur municipal corporations will stop working from midnight of March 31.
Members of two big unions “Maharashtra Rajya Mahanagarpalika Nagarpalika Union” and “Kamgar Karmachari Sanghtana Federation” led by Mr Rao will stop working and not provide any civic amenities. In Mumbai, however, auto drivers and hawkers will also join this stir as they are fighting for permits. These unions are contemplating taking up the issue of removal of octroi with the high court by the end of this week.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Rao slammed chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and said that the introduction of the LBT and the abolition of octroi was a scam to cough up money for the next year’s election.
“With the removal of octroi, income of all the municipal corporations will reduce by almost 50 to 60 per cent and these will stall all the ongoing civic infrastructure development projects, particularly water, road, health, sewerage and education,” he said.
During the indefinite agitation, members of unions have planned massive morchas, demonstrations and meetings in major cities of Maharashtra, where they plan to campaign against the
policies of the present government. “This government is imposing heavy duties on property tax, water charges, stamp duty which is paid by all. But what’s ridiculous is that the government has chosen to remove the octroi, which is only paid by rich businessmen, manufacturers or merchants,” said Mr Rao.
The state government issued a GR on February 25, 2013 that it would impose LBT instead of octroi in Thane, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Nagpur municipal corporations from April 1, 2013. It plans to impose it in BMC from October 1, 2013.
Post new comment