Election Wishlist by honest taxpaying Bangaloreans

Today, the IT capital of India voted for their candidates but unfortunately there was a very small turnover of the IT workforce for whom holiday was declared today, the 17^th of April 2014. More than 60% of the workforce of   the IT  Industry are migrants. People who hail from the nearby states can still go and vote.  Chennaites can take a day off on 24^th April and Hyderabadis can take a day off on the 30^th. Migrants who come all the way from North and east India may be skipping the vote and stay at home as it’s not feasible to spare a week to cast the vote. They might as well be enjoying a flash holiday.

The Garden City is definitely affected by the NAMO wave. Corporate honchos like Nandan Nilekani have joined the fray. But Let’s see what the IT guys expect from their leaders. The working corporate class is more familiar with names like Nina Ricci rather than Nina Nayak !!! But still they have some expecations in lieu of the tax they pay honestly. The joblagao team checked the pulse of the working class at various polling booths. We are listing the TOP FIVE problems faced by the working class.

1. Transportation and Infrastructure issues:

a. Control Auto Fare Rate: The auto drivers charge autonomously. Despite the rise in fare several times in the last few years, they still charge double or one and half even during day time. On many occasions, they behave like rowdies. Even the pre-paid auto will ask for 20 or 50 rupees more, saying that they are dropping you to the door and the pre-paid fare was only till a particular point. This is a hassle to people who commute every day to work

b. Can the government help auto drivers and us: The government could consider offering benefits to registered drivers, such as health and vehicle insurance?  They should also be given training in soft skill. . Fuel may be given to them at a subsidized rate. We can have a feedback system where the commuters can give instant feedback on a mobile app. Strict action should be taken against the auto drivers if they charge more or do not behave properly. Similarly, honest auto drivers should be rewarded.

c. Metro and Infrastructure: The Namma Metro project is still not usable. Still the connectivity is not proper.  It should connect atleast the IT hubs like Electronic City, ITPL, Manyata Tech Park etc.

The Infrastructure development is ultra slow. The Electronic City area has developed as the roads are broad, flyover and toll roads saves time of the commuter. It is not the same case with ITPL area. The roads are still narrow to accommodate huge swell of IT companies and the exponentially growing residents. People who travel to Manyata Tech park area, still have to face the bottleneck at Nagwara junction. The flyover is operational but one flyover is too narrow to accommodate traffic  from both the sides.

2. Credential of an IT Firm:

Most of the big IT giants get tax waiver from the government by executing the project from SEZ or STPI zones. The companies get benefit as they participate in corporate lobbying but none of the benefits are passed to the employees. In smaller companies, the salary is not regularized. Some companies delay the salary and may not pay in some cases especially in the case of separation and full and final settlement. There should be some regulation on freelancing and contract jobs. In most of the cases the employee delivers the work but does not get paid.

3. Tax exemption on HRA:

In this financial year, the employees were asked to declare PAN number of the landlord if the annual rent crosses rupees one lakh. Previously the limit was approximately 1,80,000. This actually increased the rent in some areas. The owner in Bangalore are demanding more rent to cover their taxes!! The government should increase the limit of HRA and let it be close to the actual rent.

4. Property Matters:

Rate of Property is very big issues, because there are no any government rules for it. Real Estate industry hike rate days by days with own rules but it is now becoming unaffordable in Bangalore. If the government cannot control the real estate price, atleast try to curb corruption while getting Khata transfer and paying property tax. There should be clarity on VAT and service tax. How many times do they want to tax the already taxed money.

5. Salary: The salary levels of the service company has gone down pathetically. In the last 5 years they have increased fresher’s salary by 10-20%, however the cost of living in Bangalore has almost doubled up in the last  5 years. These IT services companies are the one who take lot of benefits from the government but do not want to pay their employees.