Property tax rebate: Minister to hold meeting with urban development department

Cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil has promised to resolve recovery of property tax dues from 2019 on permanent basis

Cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil has promised to resolve recovery of property tax dues from 2019 on permanent basis during a scheduled meeting with officials of Urban development department (UDD) in September while also bringing to the attention of chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis soon.

Recently PMC had issued text messages to more than 60,000 taxpayers seeking payment of dues since 2019 of 40 per cent rebate revoked three years ago (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

Patil held a meeting with Pune municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar on Friday and discussed the property tax and pothole issues in the city.

Recently PMC had issued text messages to more than 60,000 taxpayers seeking payment of dues since 2019 of 40 per cent rebate revoked three years ago. Facing flak from residents, PMC issued a clarification asking citizens not to act on messages till further order.

Patil said, “This issue is very old. PMC had given 40 per cent discount in property tax for those staying in own homes. The benefit continued till 2017 before the audit committee raised objection. Later, the state government asked PMC to scrap the scheme and recover the dues.”

While Kumar appealed to citizens not to pay the arrears despite receiving messages sent inadvertently, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with civic activists and citizens have demanded to scrap notices for arrears permanently and restore the 40 per cent rebate.

Patil said, “Municipal commissioner has already announced that citizens should not pay the dues. As a government representative, I am announcing that there is no need to pay the dues till March 31, 2023. We would try to resolve the issue. As the audit and urban development departments are involved, we will call a meeting with the chief minister on September 12.”

With local elections round the corner, political parties such as the BJP, which controlled the civic body till recently, cannot afford to invite citizens’ wrath. On May 28, 2019, the state government had revoked the decision to offer rebate, thus removing concession. On August 28, 2019, PMC general body passed a resolution urging the state government to restore rebate. On September 17, 2021, the state rejected the proposal of PMC general body.