Appreciating the effort of the State Government in curbing the menaces of illegal taxation, I would like to asset that it was a long felt need for the people of the state to remove illegal taxation in entire Dimapur. But what has left me totally perplexed is the fact that while putting an end to illegal taxation, the Government has also done away with the legal taxation, which definitely raises the concern of many right thinking citizens.
We all know that Dimapur Municipal Council levies taxes on the residents of Dimapur for various civic amenities provided to them. The source of income for the municipal council is mainly from levying of taxes. But the banning of the DMC taxing has greatly affected the local governance framework which has been organized as per the revenues generated from the collection of taxes. I would also like to point out that the State Government by banning all sources of taxation/octroi by the Dimapur Municipal Council, the Government of Nagaland have not realized it has ignored that DMC has been empowered to levy taxes under part iv of the Nagaland Municipal Act, 2001, which was framed by the Government of Nagaland.
There are two assumptions that underline the decision of the State Government. The first is that the State Government is ready to fully fund the DMC and the second is the indirect indication of closing down the office of DMC because there is no way that the office can maintain its expenses without collecting the revenues that is rightfully due. It may be noted that the revenues generated from legal taxation is required for the fund starved civic bodies like the Municipal Council and surely the municipal cannot continue to carry out their duties if levying of taxes is stripped off them.
It is quite preposterous of the State Government to have so randomly banned all legal taxations, leaving a loophole in the smooth functioning of the office of the Dimapur Municipal Council. Therefore it would be logical if the State Government reinstates DMC taxation, so as there are no anomalies in the functioning of the Municipal and no building resentments among the general public.
P Sema
Dimapur, Nagaland
