Citizens' forum urges Siddaramaiah to stop property tax collection over poor civic work

Bengaluru, Oct 15 (PTI) A citizens' forum has urged Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to intervene and direct the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) not to collect property tax from residents, complaining that "unscientific and incomplete" civic works in their locality have led to flooding and poor road conditions.

In a letter dated October 13 addressed to the Chief Minister, the residents of the Varthur-Balagere-Panathur area, under the banner of the "Individual Tax Payers Forum", which represents income tax payers and advocates for their rights, alleged that they have been suffering due to "half-measured, unscientific, and poorly coordinated" road white-topping and stormwater drainage works carried out by municipal authorities in their areas.

It said flooding continues to occur repeatedly in the locality, including during the recent spell of rain on October 10 and 11, which it described as one of the worst, mainly due to the absence of a properly connected stormwater drainage network to carry rainwater into water bodies such as Varthur Lake.

Despite the Chief Minister's visit to the locality on September 27, the Forum claimed that officials of the municipal bodies have "ignored planning and resorted to shortcuts." "Instead of first completing the drainage network, which is the foundation for road stability, authorities have hastily started filling potholes and white-topping works in Varthur-Balagere-Panathur. Such half-measures will only lead to rapid deterioration of the new roads, wasting public funds and taxpayer contributions. Panathur Main Road repair work, done recently, is already seeing water accumulation because of bad sloping," the letter stated.

The letter requested the CM to order a scientific audit of the ongoing drainage and road works in the affected areas, ensure completion and interconnection of the stormwater drainage network before proceeding with further road works, and establish accountability among municipal officials and contractors to prevent recurrence of such "costly errors." It also urged Siddaramaiah to ensure that good quality roads and footpaths are built for the safety of pedestrians.

"Namma Bengaluru is globally recognized as India's IT hub, and such civic negligence erodes the pride and credibility of Brand Bengaluru," the Forum said, adding that the city's reputation as the "Garden City" and "Silicon Valley" of India was being replaced by tags such as "Pothole City" and "No Footpath City." "If the GBA continues to ignore taxpayers' requests for basic public infrastructure, we request you to order the GBA not to collect property tax from us. Give us good public infrastructure and collect tax," the Forum said.

Recently, Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw reignited the debate over Bengaluru's infrastructure by sharing a visiting overseas executive's critical comments on the city's roads and garbage, prompting Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar to say the city deserves collective effort, not constant criticism.

State Ministers Priyank Kharge and M B Patil also acknowledged the problems and said fixing them would require time. They called for "collective effort" to improve the city. PTI AMP SA