By Kavita Mistry 
In a recent move, Raipur’s municipal corporation has imposed a Rs. 500 fee for holding protests or demonstrations.
How Did This Happen?
In response to his move the opposition groups are blasting and calling it an undemocratic “tax on dissent.”
The story started after a decision regarding the city’s primary protest site, Tuta Dharna Sthal, as it has been banned for demonstrations for two months by Raipur Collector Dr. Gaurav Singh, owing to the ongoing maintenance work reportedly.
Because of this, now Raipur citizens have no sanctioned protest space and they need to wait for the removal of this ban.
Interestingly, they will also have to pay a fee of Rs 500 to voice their dissent.
The capital of Chhattisgarh, Raipur is governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led civic body.
A Fee For Cleaning & Maintenance
This new fee was defended by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and mayor Meenal Choubey claiming that this was based on state government instructions.
Meenal Choubey further stated that the policy was necessary for “cleaning and maintenance” of protest sites.
The Mayor Meena Choubey noted that the fees are meant to cover expenses for cleaning, maintenance and crowd management during demonstrations, NDTV reported.
Besides this, the permission process also helps the administration to get “complete information about the route” of any procession.
On the other hand, the justification was rejected by the opposition leaders and activists further arguing that the policy is designed to discourage people from raising their voices on public issues.
In addition to this, a separate charge of Rs. 5 per square foot will also be levied for setting up a stage or pandal as per the resolution passed in the general meeting.
Moving ahead, the protest fee could soon be doubled to Rs. 1,000, a proposal that was reportedly passed unanimously during the same municipal meeting as indicated by the officials.
The protest ground near Rajyotsav Maidan in Atal Nagar will undergo repairs for about two months, during which the site has been handed over to the Urban Development Authority for maintenance as mentioned in the order.
So, till the time this work is completed, no dharna, protest or public gathering will be allowed there.