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PMC seeks GST share from 32 merged villages, writes to state govt again
PMC is yet to receive its share of GST collected from 32 merged villages and will send another letter to the state government to demand the pending amount estimated at around ₹2,000 crore
Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation has said it has not yet received its share of GST collected from the 32 villages merged into the city limits, and will now send another letter to the state government to demand the pending amount, which is estimated at around ₹2,000 crore.
Municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said, “State pays LBT compensation to the civic body to cover revenue losses after Octroi and Local Body Tax (LBT) were scrapped. This compensation comes from the GST collected in the city. However, the payment is still calculated only on the basis of GST collected from the old city limits.”
A total of 32 villages were added to PMC — 11 in 2017 and 23 in 2021 — almost doubling the city’s area. But the state government has not revised the GST share for the expanded limits. As a result, PMC says, development works in the merged areas are suffering due to lack of funds.
Before the merger, PMC had requested special grants for these villages, but the state did not approve any. At the same time, property tax recovery in these villages is currently on hold, and building permissions are issued by PMRDA which also earns the revenue, while PMC remains responsible for only civic services.
Civic officials said PMC has to spend from its limited income, making it difficult to allot enough funds for the development of the merged villages.
