Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat waives off house tax for Ashrams, Akharas
Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat announced on Monday that ashrams and akharas in Haridwar would not be counted under the category of commercial institutions and no house tax would be levied on them.
The CM made this announcement at a function at Niranjani akhara in Haridwar. The seer community, which has been seeking house tax exemption for ashrams and akharas in the holy city for quite some time now, welcomed the decision. “The seers will sit with urban development minister Madan Kaushik and discuss ways to bring changes in the tax laws,” the CM said.
After the state was created in 2000, Haridwar nagar nigam sent a proposal to the Uttarakhand government to continue exemption from house tax for these religious institutions as per the UP Nagar Nigam Act. But the state government rejected the proposal and these institutions were placed under the category of commercial institutions. Thus, they were required to pay property tax like other commercial establishments.
Meanwhile, CM Rawat appealed to the seers to lend their support to the government in making the state clean and garbage free. He also promised to eradicate illiteracy from Uttarakhand in two years. The CM added that a shelter for abandoned cows would be set up in the city.
