“Collecting the cess from the public, to implement Swachh Bharat, is nothing but nonsense”, said the opposition party leaders and other voluntary organizations.

On the other day, the NITI Aayog sub-committee headed by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, made a proposal, stating to mobilize the funds for the Swachh Bharat Mission.

Reacting to the proposal, Mr N. Tulasi Reddy, the APCC spokesperson said that, the Swachh Bharat Mission was a drama. He said that a number of taxes are already being collected by both the state and the central governments. Now collecting another cess, showing Swachh Bharat as a weapon, is illegal and nothing but stealing the public pockets officially.  

Reddy further added that, it is the minimum responsibility of the local bodies and the state government to keep the cities and the villages clean. There are various alternatives to pool the funds, like collecting from other departments, but throwing the burden on the public is not good. 

Cess for Swachh Bharat is an anti-people decision– Ambati Rambabu

Along with Tulasi Reddy, even YSRCP leader, Ambati Rambabu responded on the issue, stating that, Andhra Pradesh state government and NDA government at the centre, are taking all the anti people decisions and unnecessarily burdening them for every small cause.     
 
Already the local bodies are collecting the property tax from the people. So there is no need of collecting any other tax. Explaining it with an example, Ambati Rambabu said, “The person who throws garbage on the streets should be punished. But not others, who never throw on the streets. So collecting cess for Swachh Bharat is completely a foolish idea.”  

Swachh Bharat is an awareness, not cess- M. Padmanabha Reddy

Meanwhile, Forum for Good governance secretary, M. Padmanabha Reddy said that, Swachh Bharat should be made as an awareness and  cess should not be the criteria. However, the public should voluntarily come forward and donate money, taking it as a responsibility, to keep their cities clean.

However, the government is moving forward to levy Swachh Bharat cess on petrol. The reaction on this and the chances of implementation, is yet to be known.   

By Phani Ch