ACAUT, DDCF oppose MAD order

ACAUT Nagaland and Dimapur District Citizens Forum (DDCF) have joined the eight Dimapur-based civil society organisations (CSOs) in opposing the notification of the Municipal Affairs Department (MAD), which seeks to re-enforce the lease system for tax, tolls and fees from October 2016 in the Dimapur municipality.

In a press release, media cell, ACAUT Nagaland, said it “totally” condemned the move and maintained that notification defied good governance. It said how could one justify the logic behind “this outrageous decision to hand over DMC toll tax collection to private individuals?”

Terming the notification as “anti people”, ACAUT said the lease system would cause undue harassment to the general public. 

Further, ACAUT said it was constrained “to conclude that this order is pure corruption where vested interest higher ups in the department may have been promised hefty amounts by unscrupulous fly-by-night businessmen to issue the nonsensical and tainted directive.”

ACAUT also claimed that even in the past, the portfolio-incharge of MAD was actively involved in “giving out lease in toll tax collection to his cronies.” It further claimed there were allegations that crores of rupees had changed hands for the favour of awarding leases, mostly to non-locals.

ACAUT said not only was the tendering process “thrown into the dustbin”, but those leasees also managed to avoid paying income tax. “Thus, on the one hand, the portfolio-in charge made huge sums of illicit money and on the other hand the government lost out on revenue,” ACAUT alleged. It said that if the lease system was allowed to come back, not only would development of link roads, culverts, etc., in Dimapur municipal area stop but the 300 plus employees of DMC would also stop getting salaries.

ACAUT said the lease system was “nothing but extortion” and cautioned that the potential leasees “may go ahead at their own risks.”

DDCF: In another press release, DDCF president, Joseph Lemtur, maintained that the citizens of Dimapur were “greatly benefited” by the development work undertaken by the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) in Dimapur city for the past several months with the tolls and taxes collected.

With the leasing out of tolls and taxes to private individuals, the forum said the developmental activities in Dimapur would “once again” come to a halt.

DDCF requested the responsible department to re-consider the decision and allow the DMC to collect the tolls and taxes directly so as to avoid middlemen.

It stated that DMC with its enormous manpower was capable of collection of tolls and taxes and also utilise it in the developmental activities of the city.

Further, the DDCF extended support to the efforts of the Dimapur-based CSOs to oppose the implementation of notification, which, it said was “against the wishes of the citizens of Dimapur.”