JOIN USShantalanagar corporator K Shivakumar raised the matter at the Council meeting, stating that the Metro rail station had come up on Palike property, but the railway authorities did not even invite Mayor Sharadamma to address the gathering at the function.
Peenya corporator K L Thimmananjaiah said the names of the mayor and deputy mayor were not even mentioned at the event, though they were the first and the second citizens of the City.
“Our (BBMP) roads were damaged, our trees were cut and pavements broken. Yet, we worked for two months and spent Rs two crore to make the area look clean. The outcome was that our mayor, deputy mayor and commissioner were ignored,” said Thimmananjaiah.
JD(S) floor leader Padmanabha Reddy said the BMRCL had invited the corporators to “fill the venue”.
Meanwhile, Congress corporator Gunasekhar asked Commissioner Siddaiah how the Palike would collect taxes from Namma Metro, a commercial venture that needed to be taxed according to the Karnataka Municipal Corporation (KMC) Act. He sought to know how the property tax on the Metro Rail viaduct, Metro station, advertisement taxes and garbage cess would be collected from the BMRCL.
Siddaiah said the decision to invite the mayor and the deputy mayor was left to the State government, which had organised the programme.
The Palike would collect property tax on the BMRCL stations on a par with any commercial venture. The Palike would also collect garbage cess and advertisement tax from Namma Metro.