Mayor, Sr Dy Mayor at loggerheads

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 30

City Mayor Poonam Sharma and Senior Deputy Mayor Rajesh Kumar Gupta are at loggerheads over the latter’s statement in which he had sought exemption from house tax for gallantry award winners.

The Mayor said Gupta never raised any such demand before UT Adviser Vijay Kumar Dev during the councillors' meeting with him yesterday. She condemned the claim made by the Senior Deputy Mayor.

Since the MC House had last year passed an agenda for house tax exemption for defence personnel, what was the need for seeking exemption specially for gallantry award winners. She was fighting for exemption for all defence personnel, the Mayor said.

After the House approval, officials had rejected the agenda.

Meanwhile, the Senior Deputy Mayor said besides gallantry award winners, he would also fight for house tax exemption for all defence personnel.

“I don’t need to give an explanation to the Mayor regarding my statement. I had spoken to the Adviser and would again write to him for exemption from house tax not just for gallantry award winners but all defence personnel and their families,” Gupta said.

A nominated councillor, Maj DS Sandhu (retd), has also written to the UT Adviser for house tax exemption for 12,000 families of defence personnel settled in the city. He submitted that the exemption should be made on the pattern of Punjab and Haryana.