RAWALPINDI: An increase in the sanitation tax for cantonment residents has been withdrawn by the Chaklala Cantonment Board (CCB) after criticism from local residents for the 2018-19 fiscal year.
The board had increased the sanitation tax from Rs120 to Rs640 for three marla houses and Rs500 to Rs1,200 for seven to 10 marla houses.
Although the president of the board had initially refused to withdraw the hike, elected members eventually convinced the civil and military bureaucracy to agree to reduce the sanitation charges until the next fiscal year.
The tax has now been reduced to Rs340 for three marla houses and Rs750 for seven to 10 marla houses.
CCB Vice President Raja Irfan Imtiaz said elected CCB members had corrected the tax hike made in the 2017-18 annual budget. “It is our fault that we passed the increased tax rates, but we tried hard to improve on our wrongdoing,” he said.
“As we are new to this system we failed to understand the budget document. But we raised the issue with the top leadership of the civic body, which refused to admit any wrongdoing and said [the tax] was increased after 15 years.”
