Proposed cess put on the back burner

In a setback to the cash-strapped Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC), the general House on Monday deferred two key revenue-generating proposals—hiking the sewerage cess and increasing penalties on shopkeepers for encroaching public spaces.

- HT correspondent [e-mail]

CHANDIGARH:

The MC, which had reduced the sewerage cess to 20% last year, was considering raising it back to 30%, a move that would have resulted in higher water bills for residents. However, the proposal quickly turned into a political debate, with AAP and Congress councillors opposing the hike and accusing BJP mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla of introducing an "anti-citizen" tax.