Team Herald
PONDA: In a significant win for residents, the Borim villagers have successfully passed a gram sabha resolution to slash the house tax hike by 50 per cent, bringing long-awaited relief after two years of protests and demands.
The original hike, implemented following a government circular urging Panchayats to revise tax rates, saw the Borim Panchayat raising house tax by Rs 28 per square metre for RCC structures. The hike had triggered strong opposition from villagers and even dissent among some Panchayat members who agreed that the increase was excessive.
On Sunday, the Borim Gram Sabha voted to reduce the hike by half. Sarpanch Jayesh Naik confirmed that the tax on RCC structures will now be Rs 14 per square metre, with corresponding reductions for laterite and mud houses.
Meanwhile, neighbouring villages under Bethora-Nirankal-Conshem-Codar Panchayat are rallying for a similar rollback. Villagers have called for mass participation in the upcoming gram sabha on Sunday, April 27, to demand a resolution reducing the Rs 20 per square metre house tax hike implemented last year.