A notification from the Himachal Pradesh government on the morning of September 21, proposing a ‘toilet tax’ in urban areas, sparked widespread confusion and controversy before it was swiftly modified later that evening. The issue gained such momentum that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu addressed it during a Friday press conference in New Delhi, dismissing the claims and accusing political opponents of using the matter for electoral advantage.The office of Additional Chief Secretary (Jal Shakti), put forward the original notification saying, “Where in urban areas, some establishment uses their own water sources and sewerage system of the department, sewage charged be levied @25/- per seat per month.”The controversial clause was partly repealed in the second order later that day, stating, “In partial modification of this Department notification dated 21-09-2024, condition number 3… is hereby deleted with immediate effect.”Before the modification of the first notification, it had reached a few Municipal Corporation offices, in spite of the quick step down. When the notification was leaked to the media in Dharamshala, a controversy was ignited that led to widespread political criticism.The credibility of the proposed tax was bolstered by the Sukhu government’s decision to impose a water cess in rural areas starting October 1, under the same notification. The previous BJP government had provided free water to rural areas, but this benefit was revoked with the new order. CM Sukhu had previously pointed out that even five-star hotels were benefiting from the free water policy introduced by the outgoing BJP government.The Congress government decided to withdraw the facility of free water supply in rural areas and impose above Rs 50,000 a cess of Rs 100 per month to rural domestic consumers annually.The notification proposed on September 21 asserted from October 21, “all the water connections except rural domestic connections shall be metered.””The charges for sewerage connections in urban and rural areas (where sewerage facility is available) be levied @ 30 % of water charges,” it added.Addressing the media in New Delhi on Friday, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, called the claims of a ‘toilet tax’ baseless and accused the opposition of exploiting the issue for political advantage ahead of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha elections.“The BJP is playing the religion card or raising fabricated issues like this so-called toilet tax. These are unfounded allegations aimed at misleading the public,” he said.Sukhu explained in a statement that the previous BJP government had introduced various sops worth Rs 5,000 crore, including free water, in an attempt to win the 2022 elections. However, despite these efforts, the Congress came to power. He noted that the free water benefit had even been extended to five-star hotels.The current government has since rationalized water subsidies by implementing a nominal charge of Rs 100 per month in rural areas, he added.However, Karan Nanda, a BJP spokesperson criticised the government by alleging that the notification was repealed after sensing public anger.“The Sukhu government rolled back the notification to avoid backlash, but the Rs 25 charge will likely be imposed through other means,” Nanda said.
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