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Bathinda: MC puts proposal to waive mall’s ₹85 lakh property tax on hold
In the previous house meeting on April 7, chaired by Mehta, a first-time councillor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a resolution was passed giving a tax waiver to the mall.
In a setback to Bathinda mayor Paramjeet Mehta, the municipal corporation on Friday put on hold his proposal to waive off the pending property tax of ₹85 lakh of a city-based shopping mall.
During today’s general house meeting, councillor Sandeep Kumar was the first to object to arbitrary relaxation. Kumar said instead of pressing the mall management to clear all dues to fill the coffers of the MC, the urban local body authorities acted hastily.
“The mall authorities wrote to the mayor for tax relief on March 26 and it was processed and approved in less than 15 days. About 19,500 city residents have been served notices to clear property taxes or face strict action. While the owner of a palatial shopping arcade has been given relaxation arbitrarily in tax collection,” he said.
Kumar got support from unexpected quarters with his proposal seconded by the municipal commissioner, Ajay Arora, a 2016-batch IAS officer.
Arora remarked that the property tax waiver should not be extended only to an individual. Following opposition from different quarters, the house decided to keep the tax waiver proposal as a pending item.
The crux of the matter is that management of the Peninsula Mall owes ₹1.78 crore, including ₹6.84 lakh interest, ₹19.51 lakh penalty, ₹4.36 lakh fire cess, and ₹1.74 lakh cancer cess since 2015.
In the previous house meeting on April 7, chaired by Mehta, a first-time councillor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a resolution was passed giving a tax waiver to the mall.
The house meeting was rescheduled for today, where Mehta’s call to extend financial benefits to mall owners was questioned. Sensing criticism from the councillors and officials, mayor Mehta announced to keep the agenda of extending a tax waiver pending.
On April 17, Mehta told HT that the waiver was his initiative as a part of the one-time settlement to mobilise funds from the decade-old big tax defaulter.
Located on the Bathinda-Amritsar national highway, the mall was promoted by a Delhi-based HBN Dairies and Allied Limited which later went bankrupt.
The mall has reportedly been lying closed since 2015. The company was alleged to have collected over ₹1,000 crore from more than 20 lakh investors through money-pooling schemes. Following complaints of duping the investors, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) attached several properties of HBN Dairies and Allied Limited across the country, including the Peninsula Mall in Bathinda City. According to the official information, SEBI auctioned the mall on the directions of the Supreme Court and it was purchased by Ghanshayam Garg and others.
Cong lost senior deputy mayor office
Senior Congress leader Ashok Kumar was removed from the post of senior deputy mayor on Friday. In the 50-member house, 30 councillors voted against Ashok while only 10 voted in his favour. As many as 10 councillors skipped today’s meeting.
Kumar was ousted with the support of the rebel Congress councillors and expelled Congressmen having proximity with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manpreet Badal.
After the 2021 Municipal Corporation elections, Congress had 43 councillors, making it the party’s maiden victory in the largest urban local body of the south Malwa region.
Later, the Congress got divided and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) first snatched the post of mayor in February this year.
Master Harmander Singh resigned in February this year when he realised that the councillors from his Congress party had formed a majority with the AAP to oust him. With the removal of Kumar, Congress has lost all three top seats in less than four months due to groupism.
