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CM calls meeting next week on 40% property tax rebate by PMC amid MVA protest
Fresh notices served to property owners asking them to pay property tax dues by February 28 orMarch 31 this year
With the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) once again serving notices to several Punekars asking them to pay property tax dues by February 28 or March 31 despite having asked them earlier last year not to pay the same, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Wednesday morning pinned the blame for scrapping the 40% rebate on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Whereas chief minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis attempted damage control by calling a meeting next week to decide on the matter.
NCP MLA Sunil Tingre raised the issue in the state assembly and said, “We have asked the state government to continue the 40% rebate. The Maharashtra government had taken a decision for the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) but this is an injustice to Pune. We appeal the government to give relief to the taxpayers.”
While former Pune mayor Murlidhar Mohol said, “Chief minister Shinde and deputy chief minister Fadnavis have promised to call a meeting in one week, and a positive decision will be taken.”
Pune district guardian minister Chandrakant Patil said, “The chief minister and deputy chief minister have positively responded to our request, and have called a meeting next week.”
Earlier in the day, Shinde and Fadnavis met legislators from Pune including Patil, Madhuri Misal, Siddharth Shirole, Bhimrao Tapkir and Mohol to discuss continuing the 40% rebate for Punekars.
In August last year, the then PMC commissioner Vikram Kumar had stopped collection of property tax dues pending further orders after over 60,000 citizens received text messages asking them to pay property tax dues in the wake of the decision to scrap 40% tax rebate. Patil too had promised to resolve the issue through a meeting with officials of the urban development department (UDD).
However, with fresh notices being served to residents asking them to pay property tax dues by February 28 or March 31, Congress leader Sanjay Balgude on Tuesday appealed Patil to save the citizens from this additional financial burden.
Whereas a senior officer from the PMC said that a proposal seeking scrapping of property tax dues was pending with the state government for almost a year and as no decision had been taken so far, the PMC had to follow rules.
