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Dist admin warns PMC over unpaid mining royalties
The Pune district administration has issued a written warning to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), as regards unpaid royalties due from contractors involved in development works in the PMC’s jurisdiction
The Pune district administration has issued a written warning to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), as regards unpaid royalties due from contractors involved in development works in the PMC’s jurisdiction.
Deputy divisional officer Santoshkumar Deshmukh, issued the letter to the PMC’s road department on Wednesday, over the unpaid dues for the last five years.
Earlier, Pune collector Rajesh Deshmukh had also written a letter to the PMC, demanding the royalty be paid based on development work in the city.
In his letter, Deshmukh has informed PMC officials about taking action under a clause of misappropriation of government money.
The letter was issued by the district collector on February 17, 2021. In this letter, the collector mentioned the amount paid by PMC contractors as ₹15.54 crore.
As per law, those who dig three feet below the surface have to pay a royalty of ₹400 per 100 cubic feet to the revenue department.
In the city premises, this tax is collected by the tehsildar under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code 1965, 48(7).
As per law, the government agency should add ₹400 per 100 cubic metre of royalty to the contractor’s bill and deposit the funds in the state government coffers.
As per law, PMC should collect the royalty amount from contractors and deposit it with the Pune district’s revenue department.
VG Kulkarni, chief superintendent engineer of the road department said, “We received a letter from the Pune district administration. They are claiming ₹100 crore as royalty. Administration has fixed a charge of ₹400 per 100 cubic metres. However, PMC charges ₹140 per 100 cubic metres as digging charges from contractors. How can we pay ₹400 per 100 cubic metre?”
He further said, “As per law, if any contractor or agency uses minerals for commercial purposes or sells it, then mining royalty is applicable and the contractor or agency should have to pay an amount to the state government. At the corporation level, contractors are not using the minerals for any commercial purpose.”
It has been found that the PMC has deposited a royalty amount that is lower in comparison to the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), in spite of having more land under its jurisdiction.
