The Chandigarh Residents Associations Welfare Federation (CRAWFED) today launched a signature campaign against the three-fold hike in property tax rates. A decision to launch the campaign was taken in the executive committee meeting of the federation held in the Sector…

The Chandigarh Residents Associations Welfare Federation (CRAWFED) today launched a signature campaign against the three-fold hike in property tax rates.

A decision to launch the campaign was taken in the executive committee meeting of the federation held in the Sector 21 Community Centre. The federation has more than 86 Residents Welfare Associations of the city. Satnam Singh Sandhu, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), was the chief guest on the occasion.

Hitesh Puri, president of CRAWFED, requested Sandhu to help residents by getting the property tax hike notification annulled. He said 80%of population of the city was salaried class or pensioners.

The federation submitted a memorandum to Sandhu appealing him to take up the matter with the relevant ministries and departments, particularly the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The federation raised various issues before Sandhu, which included regularisation of need-based changes in CHB flats, reservation in jobs and education for Chandigarh natives, arbitrary increase in taxes and penalties by the Chandigarh Administration, restrictions on the share-wise sale of residential properties due to heritage claims, non-payment of park maintenance funds to RWAs, and MC’s proposal to hike community centre booking charges.

Sandhu assured the members that he would take up their concerns at the highest levels and emphasised his commitment to the welfare of the city residents.

Arun Kumar Verma, Director of Chandigarh Power Distribution Limited (CPDL), also attended the meeting. He informed the gathering about the initiatives the company has; taken since taking the reins of the electricity distribution and retail supply operations in the city.

He said a comprehensive survey and assessment of all grid substations and 192 indoor substations was carried out. An infrastructure maintenance campaign was launched to fortify the power network ahead of the peak summers. He said a round-the-clock helpline, reachable at 924021666, has been fully operational since February 1.

The privatisation of the Electricity Department would not impact tariffs, as these would continue to be regulated by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission. The CPDL has slashed the time for releasing new power connections to just three days — provided no additional infrastructure is needed. The company has also replaced 2,541 defective meters, said Verma.