Goodbye to Jagan’s ‘Chettha Pannu’ From Today

During the YCP’s regime, a unique tax system known as the ‘Garbage Tax’ (in Telugu – Chhetha Pannu) was introduced. This tax drew criticism from all over the state, but the government continued to collect it from every household.

On Gandhi Jayanti, AP CM Chandrababu Naidu announced the scrapping of this tax. The Chief Minister made the announcement in Machilipatnam on Wednesday, adding that he has instructed officials not to collect the garbage tax.

“Since 2019, every system in the state has been destroyed by the YCP. Despite collecting tax from the people, the state has turned into a dump yard. Eighty-five lakh metric tons of garbage are piling up on the roads, and we have taken the initiative to clean up the whole state. Swacch Andhra Pradesh is our target, and by 2029, we aim to achieve it. By keeping our environment clean, public health will improve, and we need volunteers for the same,” said Chandrababu.

It appears that in many districts, the collection of the garbage tax was halted immediately after the TDP formed the government in June 2024. However, there were a few municipalities where the collection was still ongoing. With the CM himself making it official, this has brought huge relief to the public.

On October 2, 2021, then Chief Minister YS Jagan Reddy launched the Clean Andhra Pradesh – Jagananna Swachha Sankalpam program. Under this program, civic bodies in the state collected ₹30 per household per month in slums and ₹120 from individual houses and apartments. The charge varied from ₹200 to ₹15,000 per month for business establishments.