Ashok Singhal is incompetent to carry out his duties: BJP MLA Siddartha Bhattacharya

Following the condemnation by various organisations on the alleged outsourcing of tax collection duty of GMDA to private hands, former GDD minister and MLA Siddhartha Bhattacharya slammed current GDD minister Ashok Singhal for taking decisions arbitrarily and not consulting senior party leaders for their recommendation on important issues concerning the municipality.

"Current BJP cabinet minister Ashok Singhal's multiple failures in carrying out his duties and the numerous projects that have been incorporated for the development of Guwahati into a smart city, is a mere wastage of money," Siddhartha Bhattacharya said. Bhattacharya has further alleged that Singhal should have consulted the senior party members, as they are the representatives from Guwahati.

"What is the main function of a municipal body? The main function is to provide basic municipal amenities to the residents residing in the municipality. In return for the amenities and benefits provided to the citizens, a tax percentage will be collected from them. Since the inception of the Guwahati Municipality Board, the board has itself assigned people who have been collecting levies and fees," said MLA Siddhartha Bhattacharya while speaking to India Today NE exclusively.

 "Subsequently, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation has been the only corporation converted by the government into a board. The tax collection method continues to remain the same, and the municipality has a tax collection department. If there was a lacuna in the tax collection, the department should have been notified all these years. Suddenly, they say that only 60 percent of people pay taxes and 40 percent don't. Then the solution cannot be distributed to a private body (outsourcing)", BJP MLA Bhattacharya said.

"Singhal is incompetent in carrying out his duties, so he should take expert advice. If he is not meeting the standards, he should consult experts. Many employees and officials have worked with GMC throughout their lives. The minister can look into how to increase those officials' productivity instead of outsourcing the task of tax collection. Ashok Singhal is incompetent in carrying out his duties: BJP MLA on the minister's outsourcing policy. We have four MLAs from Kamrup who are ex-officio members, including CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. He should consult the senior party members ," added Bhattacharya.