Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray recently announced property tax waiver for homes up to 500 sq feet in Mumbai, saying that the Shiv Sena lives up to its promises. It has also been labelled as a New Year gift to lakhs of Mumbaikars. Given that real estate is an absolute hot button here, the announcement has been met with an avalanche of analyses and opinions.

The originals

The Agris, Kohlis and East Indians have reacted at once asking: What about us? Alphi D’Souza, founder-trustee of Mobai Gaothan Panchayat (MGP)—apex body representing Gaothans, said, “The property tax waiver should be extended to the inhabitants of gaothans across. As the original inhabitants of the city, our homes are spacious, but check our records of homes registered before 1962 in the Gaothans, these are those of the original inhabitants. The BMC should not levy property tax on those homes. That is the least they can do for us, the people of erstwhile Bombay.”