Shimla Citizens Protest Against Hike in Utility Fees and Smart Meter Installation
3 min read
Shimla, April 1: The Shimla Civic Association staged a vigorous demonstration at the Deputy Commissioner’s Office in Shimla to oppose the increase in fees for water, electricity, property tax, and waste collection, as well as the installation of smart meters. During the protest, conveners Sanjay Chauhan and co-convener Vijender Mehra, along with other participants including Prem Gautam, Jagmohan Thakur, councilor Veerendra Thakur from Samarihila, Balak Ram, Dr. Rajendra Chauhan, Dr. Vijay Kaushal, Kapil Sharma, Amit Thakur, Ranjeev Kuthiala, Vinod Birsanta, Anil Thakur, Ramprakash, Dinesh Denta, Kamal, Akhil, Santosh, Sunny Sikta, Sarita, Upendra, Dalip, Shanti, Babloo, Praveen, Om Prakash, Sunny, Deep Ram, among others, voiced their concerns.
The Civic Association issued a warning to the Shimla Municipal Corporation, SJPNL management, Electricity Regulatory Commission, and the state government that if there is any increase in water, electricity, waste, and property tax fees, the association will protest against it.
Conveners Vijender Mehra and Sanjay Chauhan stated that the public’s basic amenities are under attack due to neoliberal privatization and commercialization policies. The public is being deprived of their fundamental facilities. There is a conspiracy to ruin the service sector. Instead of providing free and compulsory services to the public, they are being deceived under the guise of service charges. Increasing the rates of these services by ten percent annually in the face of limited income resources of the public is unjustifiable. The policy of increasing the rates of basic amenities by ten percent annually was introduced in 2017 by the then BJP government and the BJP-led Shimla Municipal Corporation. It is unfortunate that the current Congress government and the Congress-run Shimla Municipal Corporation are also implementing the same policy. The Shimla Municipal Corporation and SJPNL are burdening the public instead of improving their lax working system. Despite outstanding dues of Rs. 11 crores for garbage collection, Rs. 11 crores for property tax, and Rs. 21 crores for water collection from effective individuals and government departments, without following the rules and laws, the burden of unnecessary economic is being imposed on the common people every year, which will not be tolerated.
They demanded that in the interest of the public, the privatization and commercialization of electricity and water be stopped. The installation of smart meters for electricity in the state should be stopped because it will exclude electricity from the reach of the general public. In reality, installing smart meters for electricity is a mega scam to benefit corporate houses. The policy of increasing the property tax rates by 8 percent should be withdrawn as it is not logical. Without increasing the facilities for the public and without regularizing buildings, it does not make any sense to increase the rates of basic amenities. The policy of increasing the garbage collection fee by ten percent annually should be withdrawn. This fee has increased four times in the last seven years, which is anti-people. The privatization of water in Shimla city to the SJPNL company should be stopped, and the work of water supply should be resumed by the Shimla Municipal Corporation. The policy of increasing water rates by ten percent annually should be withdrawn. The burden of taxes on the public in the name of urban reforms should be stopped. Regular recruitment should be done for vacant positions in the Shimla Municipal Corporation. Hiring and outsourcing should be stopped in the Shimla Municipal Corporation. The decision to implement the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in the state government should be revoked.
