PUNE The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), on Saturday, sealed 27 shops belonging to the civic body whose occupants defaulted the property tax payment.
According to officials, most properties are rented out to various entities to generate revenue. The shops whose occupants did not pay dues were sealed. The 27 defaulters have outstanding property tax bills worth ₹3.28 crore.
The civic body has also seized a playground, rented out to an educational institution in Ambegaon Budruk.
Among the sealed properties include three shops from Ravivar peth, shop no. 5 from Dhere Udyog Bhavan on Tilak road, shop no. 2 from Wakdewadi, 13 shops rented out to Priyankaji Mahila Udyog in Ghorpade peth, six shops from Savarkar Bhavan and three shops from Hule Complex in Yerawada.
Premchand Bafna who rented out a shop at Dhere Bhavan on Tilak road had the highest outstanding dues, worth ₹1.05 crore. According to estate department head and deputy municipal commissioner Rajendra Muthe, the outstanding dues from the six shop occupants were ₹1.40 crore.
Local residents had complained that after PMC rented out the playground at Ambegaon Budruk, they were not allowed to enter the premises for their morning walks. They demanded that they should be allowed to exercise at the playground and children should be allowed to play as there is no playground in the area. The institute and local citizens had a dispute over this issue. Civic officials said the playground has been taken back by the civic body.