Bathinda MC waives mall’s ₹84 lakh property tax, sparks row
Congress councillors have submitted a complaint to the Bathinda deputy commissioner against the alleged favouritism to the new owners of the mall by the local body authorities
Bathinda municipal corporation authorities have stoked a controversy after the pending property tax of ₹84 lakh of a shopping mall was waived in the general house meeting on April 7.
A delegation of Congress councillors, led by the senior deputy mayor Ashok Kumar, submitted a complaint to the Bathinda deputy commissioner on Tuesday against the alleged favouritism to the new owners of the mall by the local body authorities.
Management of the Peninsula Mall owed ₹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.
Located on the Bathinda-Amritsar national highway, the mall was promoted by a Delhi-based HBN Dairies and Allied Limited which later turned bankrupt. The mall has been reportedly 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 with assurances of better financial returns. 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.
As per information, following the application sent by Garg on March 26, the local body offered Garg to pay only ₹93.60 lakh and waive the rest amount.
Senior deputy mayor Ashok said that the benefit has been extended in a non-transparent and arbitrary manner as during the meeting on April 7, only 12 members were present in a 50-member house and the agenda was passed by pro-AAP councillors without any discussion.
“Instead of pressing the mall management to clear all dues to fill the coffers of the MC, the mayor 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,” he said.
Denying any wrongdoing, mayor and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Padamjeet Mehta on Wednesday said that the waiver was his initiative as a part of the one-time settlement to mobilise funds from the decade-old big tax defaulter.
He acknowledged that the mall management was the only person to benefit from the MC last week, even as property tax arrears from all city defaulters are close to ₹4 crore.
The mayor feigned ignorance of whether the mall management had paid the dues.
“MC may consider a similar offer to owners of other residential and commercial buildings who have been defaulting on property tax payments for years. Those opposing the move lack understanding that tax recovery would benefit the local body. AAP has the support of the majority of councillors behind the tax waiver, and only a handful are making unfounded allegations,” Mehta said.
An official in the urban local body said that a municipal body can offer a tax waiver, but it is subject to approval by the state government.
