Kangra: Citing hefty taxes, villagers seek exclusion from Nagar Panchayat

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, March 11

Up in arms against the inclusion of Makrahan village in ward 2 of the Jawali Nagar Panchayat in Kangra district despite public objection, residents have demanded the immediate exclusion of the village from the Nagar Panchayat jurisdiction.

The residents of Makrahan village — previously in the Nargala Gram Panchayat — convened a meeting yesterday. The villagers called upon the state government to exclude the village from the Nagar Panchayat area, as most of the residents were poor and living hand to mouth.

Under the leadership of former local Block Development Committee chairman Bhikham Singh Pagdotra, the locals claimed that around half of the villagers were living below the poverty line (BPL), and were unable to pay the hefty house tax imposed by the Jawali Nagar Panchayat.

They said most of the poor families in the village were labourers and small farmers, who were unable to pay house tax and the monthly water charges of Rs 221. The house tax was revised to Rs 243, with effect from the next financial year, the villagers stated.

Former Zila Parishad member Raj Kamal Pagdotra, former panchayat up-pradhan Dilbag Singh, and Chain Singh, a retired government official, stated that the residents of the village got no civic amenities after inclusion in the Nagar Panchayat, despite having to pay taxes to the civic body.

“We have witnessed no development since 2016 when our village separated from Nargala Gram Panchayat for inclusion in Jawali Nagar Panchayat,” the former Zila Parishad member said.

They claimed that the residents also opposed the notification issued in 2016 during the tenure of then CM Virbhadra Singh for the merger of their village in the Jawali Nagar Panchayat, but their voices were not heard.

Talking to The Tribune, Bhikham Pagdotra said the residents had raised their grievances during the previous BJP-led government, and were assured the fulfilment of their demands. However, no action in this direction was taken, he added.

“After convening the meeting yesterday, residents submitted a signed memorandum to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the local MLA, Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar, and the Deputy Commissioner of Kangra for the early redressal of the villagers’ grievances,” he said.

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