Garbage Fee Sparks Political Standoff in Bengaluru

The BJP on Wednesday demanded a rollback of the newly imposed Rs 250 garbage user fee by the Congress-led Karnataka government, calling it an unjust burden on Bengaluru’s residents.

Addressing media at the BBMP office, Opposition Leader R Ashoka condemned the move, stating, “Congress is milking revenue from waste. This is the highest garbage tax in the country. While Kempegowda built the city, Congress is destroying it.”

Ashoka claimed that alongside the existing garbage cess, the new user fee would inflate the total collection to Rs 500-600 crore, despite the tender cost being Rs 147 crore. He warned that the added cost would raise rents and prices for businesses, schools, hospitals, and event spaces.

Calling it “taxation overkill,” he argued that either the cess or the user fee should apply—not both. He accused Congress of using the garbage fee to fund its five guarantee schemes, while hiding behind a supposed central mandate that he says doesn’t exist.

BJP’s city unit also submitted a memorandum to Additional Chief Secretary Tushar Girinath, accusing CM Siddaramaiah and DCM DK Shivakumar of making Bengaluru “more expensive than Dubai”. The memo further criticized the Brand Bengaluru initiative as unrealistic and alleged that no major infrastructure projects have been initiated in the past two years.

The BJP also urged steps to tackle BBMP corruption, enhance work quality, and ensure citizen-centric governance, while expressing concerns about the move to divide Bengaluru into six municipalities, fearing it could alienate long-time residents.

Read also:

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