GUWAHATI, June 11 � Requesting the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to take urgent steps under his supervision to solve the perennial civic problems of Guwahati city, the Save Guwahati Build Guwahati (SGBG) submitted a memorandum to him focusing on three major problems of the city.
"People of the capital city are facing three main civic problems in the form of artificial flood, inappropriate property tax and lack of proper conservancy services. Though, we have written to the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) several times, nothing significant has been done to solve these problems till date. Thus, your intervention is urgently required in this matter," the memorandum to the Chief Minister mentioned.
"Artificial flood has become the most devastating problem of the city and it is the responsibility of the State government to take immediate steps to address this issue before the coming monsoons," the letter mentioned.
"Every year during the monsoons, people face severe water logging in almost every part of the city. What is more concerning, the problem is getting more aggravated with every passing year," added the letter.
Further attracting his attention towards property tax, the NGO said that the property tax was imposed upon the people by the GMC without taking the tax payers into confidence. "The corporation's tax system has not been designed according to the financial status of different segments of the society. The poor and middle class people are the worst sufferers of this system," it added.
"From time to time, the government and the corporation issue notice for increasing the property tax. But such one sided decisions irk the citizens, who come out to register their protest against such notifications. Thus, it is important to discuss the matter openly with the common people to find out an amicable solution of the problem rather than increasing the tax arbitrarily," the memorandum added.
"The third most important civic issue concerning the citizens is lack of proper garbage collection in the city. The overflowing dustbins and heaps of garbage on the roadside not just tarnish the image of the city; it also affects the health of the citizens. Further, the garbage dumping near the Deepor beel is polluting the water affecting our eco-system," the memorandum added, urging the Chief Minister to direct the corporation to take action on the issue.
SGBG also added that in neighbouring West Bengal, the new government under Mamata Banerjee has withdrawn the tax on drinking water providing a great relief to the common people.
