E-Paper
District collector questions PMC’s mining royalty amount
PUNE The Pune district administration has raised questions on the mining royalty amount paid by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to the revenue department
PUNE The Pune district administration has raised questions on the mining royalty amount paid by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to the revenue department.
Pune collector Rajesh Deshmukh wrote a letter to the PMC and demanded to pay mining royalty based on the development work in the city.
As per law, those who dig three feet below the surface have to pay a royalty of ₹400 per 200 cubic feet to the revenue department. In the city premises, this tax is collected by the tahsildar under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code 1965, 48(7).
Deshmukh stated in the letter that there are development works being carried out by different governments, non-government bodies, and the local self-government in the city area.
As per law, the government agency should add ₹400 per 200 cubic feet royalty to the contractor bill and deposit the funds to state government coffers.
It has been found that the PMC has deposited a lesser royalty amount in comparison to the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) in spite of having more land under its jurisdiction than the PCMC. Therefore, the PMC should have checked development works and taken an appropriate decision.
The letter was issued by the district collector on February 17, 2021.
In the month of January 2021, the district Collector sent a similar letter to the PMC. In this letter, the collector mentioned the amount paid by the PMC contractors. It was ₹15. 54 crores whereas PCMC contractors paid ₹13.06 crore until November 2020.
Dr Kunal Khemnar, additional municipal commissioner said,” We will look into the matter and respond to the district administration.”
Suresh Jagtap, additional municipal commissioner said, “On the background of Covid-19 pandemic, the development work was hampered. Therefore, the amount is less. Now, the PMC has floated various development works and the royalty amount will reflect that in the coming days.
