Greater Bengaluru Authority faces backlash over ‘software charge’ on property owners

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A view of the of Greater Bengaluru Authority building in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: File photo

The Greater Bengaluru Authority’s (GBA) decision to levy a ₹200 ‘software charge’ from property owners has triggered criticism from citizens, who have questioned the need for yet another levy when they are already paying property tax and garbage cess.

The five city corporations under the GBA have started collecting the ₹200 charge from property owners along with the annual property tax. For commercial properties, officials said the charge would be ₹1,000. There has been no official announcement from the GBA explaining the levy. Officials, however, said the annual charge was being collected towards the “maintenance” of digital services and software.

Property owners have questioned why citizens should be made to pay separately for software and digital services, particularly when several basic civic services remain inadequate. They have questioned why they are being asked to pay a separate annual charge for software and digital services that civic bodies were already using.

“If this is being added as a separate charge, citizens deserve a clear explanation of what it covers, the legal basis for it and where that money goes. We take pride in calling Bengaluru an IT city, but why should we pay ₹200 for the GBA to run its IT services?” said Veda Murthy, a property owner in Kodigehalli.

Others questioned the levy in the context of the city’s existing civic problems. “From roads to streetlights, garbage collection, garbage tax and the helpline system, nothing has improved. But citizens are just being looted every day in the name of some or the other tax,” said Nataraj B.

Several citizens have also taken to social media to oppose the charge, demanding transparency on its purpose and utilisation and calling for it to be withdrawn.

Srikanth Narasimhan, founder and general secretary of the Bengaluru NavaNirmana Party (BNP), linked the levy to the absence of elected local representatives in Bengaluru, saying that decisions imposing financial burdens on citizens were being taken without adequate public scrutiny. “Before imposing another levy, GBA must disclose the accounts, justify the charges and be held accountable to the people,” he said.

BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra also criticised the levy, calling it the latest “innovation” of the Congress government’s governance in Karnataka. “What exactly are citizens paying for? Why should people separately fund the government’s software system? Where is the legal basis, cost breakup and public accountability?” he questioned.

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