Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivkumar has clearly denied reports that the state government is considering imposing ‘congestion tax’ in Bengaluru. This clarification came at a time when there was speculation that such tax is being considered as part of the city’s efforts to control the deteriorating traffic situation. Talking to reporters, Shivkumar, who is also in charge of the Bengaluru Development Department, said that no step is being taken by the state government to crowd and called it wrong information.
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He said that some industrialists and citizens had suggested to improve the traffic flow of the city, but no such proposal has reached the government at their level. He said that all things are false. There is no such tax or anything. He further said that the suggestions received from the public will be investigated, but they will not be accepted automatically. Official sources had earlier indicated that a congestion was discussed in a recent meeting on the strategy of reducing the congestion of Bengaluru. Urban dynamics experts suggested taxing on single-individual cars, especially during busy times, to discourage such use. The proposals also included a pilot test of this initiative on the busy Outer Ring Road (ORR).
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However, Shivkumar strongly rejected any such scheme and suggested that if any such step was to be implemented, the central government should consider it, not the current state administration. This explanation came after the opposition BJP’s severe criticism. Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R Ashok compared the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah government to the Tughlaq rule, alleging that it was trying to tax people without solving infrastructure problems.