third eye
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This is the silliest thing I have read in a long time.
Calcutta residents given tax break for painting homes in state chief's favourite colours - Telegraph
Residents of India’s eastern city of Calcutta have been promised a property tax waiver if they paint the outsides of their premises in the state chief minister’s favourite colours.
Calcutta mayor Sovan Chatterjee announced the scheme in a bid to extend Mamta Banerjee’s preferred white-and-blue colour scheme beyond flyovers, bridges and government buildings, in order to give the city a ‘distinctive’ look.
He said the scheme was not only an attempt to beautify Calcutta, but also to ‘incentivise’ city house owners into upgrading dilapidated properties which had not been painted for years.
All new state-licensed taxis in Calcutta also sport the blue-and-white colour scheme.
The tax waiver, however, will not be applicable to commercial and private office buildings.
It will not be automatic, as tax experts caution that such waivers are not legally tenable.
Former city mayor and high court lawyer Bikash Bhattacharya said that a tax waiver to property owners in return for painting the facades of their homes white-and-blue could only be approved by state assembly legislation.
Meanwhile, local conservationists opposed the new colour scheme on the grounds that it would alter Calcutta’s ‘colonial flavour’.
Calcutta, which became the East India Company’s principal trading centre in the late 17th century before serving as India’s capital until 1911, contains many grand colonial-era buildings which experts believe should not be painted over.
“While a white-and-blue colour scheme would suit contemporary buildings, it would not be appropriate for heritage structures,” architect Dulal Mukherjee said. Earthen colours suit these old buildings better, he added.
Many locals too dismissed the colour scheme as “gimmicky” and an eccentricity on chief minister Banerjee’s part.
“It’s a lot of nonsense and legally unenforceable” said businessman Sukhdev Grewal, who said he does not plan on repainting his house in Banerjee’s colours.
Banerjee, who was elected state chief minister in 2011 after defeating the Communist Party government that had been in power for 34 years, is keen to obliterate all signs of his Left-wing predecessors, who had painted some buildings and monuments red during their extended tenure in office.
“Banerjee is keen on stamping her own colour scheme on the city for perpetuity”, Calcutta resident Suhinder Kaur said.
Calcutta residents given tax break for painting homes in state chief's favourite colours - Telegraph
Residents of India’s eastern city of Calcutta have been promised a property tax waiver if they paint the outsides of their premises in the state chief minister’s favourite colours.
Calcutta mayor Sovan Chatterjee announced the scheme in a bid to extend Mamta Banerjee’s preferred white-and-blue colour scheme beyond flyovers, bridges and government buildings, in order to give the city a ‘distinctive’ look.
He said the scheme was not only an attempt to beautify Calcutta, but also to ‘incentivise’ city house owners into upgrading dilapidated properties which had not been painted for years.
All new state-licensed taxis in Calcutta also sport the blue-and-white colour scheme.
The tax waiver, however, will not be applicable to commercial and private office buildings.
It will not be automatic, as tax experts caution that such waivers are not legally tenable.
Former city mayor and high court lawyer Bikash Bhattacharya said that a tax waiver to property owners in return for painting the facades of their homes white-and-blue could only be approved by state assembly legislation.
Meanwhile, local conservationists opposed the new colour scheme on the grounds that it would alter Calcutta’s ‘colonial flavour’.
Calcutta, which became the East India Company’s principal trading centre in the late 17th century before serving as India’s capital until 1911, contains many grand colonial-era buildings which experts believe should not be painted over.
“While a white-and-blue colour scheme would suit contemporary buildings, it would not be appropriate for heritage structures,” architect Dulal Mukherjee said. Earthen colours suit these old buildings better, he added.
Many locals too dismissed the colour scheme as “gimmicky” and an eccentricity on chief minister Banerjee’s part.
“It’s a lot of nonsense and legally unenforceable” said businessman Sukhdev Grewal, who said he does not plan on repainting his house in Banerjee’s colours.
Banerjee, who was elected state chief minister in 2011 after defeating the Communist Party government that had been in power for 34 years, is keen to obliterate all signs of his Left-wing predecessors, who had painted some buildings and monuments red during their extended tenure in office.
“Banerjee is keen on stamping her own colour scheme on the city for perpetuity”, Calcutta resident Suhinder Kaur said.
