The Pune Cantonment residents have petitioned the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to immediately release around ₹750 crore Goods and Services Tax (GST) dues which have been pending before the central government for the past seven years. The government had scrapped the Local Body Tax (LBT) which paved the way for the imposition of GST in the Pune Cantonment area in 2017.
The petition has been sent to the central government under the aegis of the cantonment citizens development forum led by prominent social worker Rajabhau Chavan.
Currently, the entire cantonment area is in a pathetic state with all the civic amenities thrown out of gear and the board administration finding it difficult to foot the salary bills of its staffers.
“The pendency has resulted in a delay in various development projects, including infrastructure upgrades, sanitation, and healthcare services. The cantonment board’s ability to provide basic amenities to residents has been severely impacted, leading to growing discontent and unease among the local population,” the petition stated.
Chavan said, most of the roads in the cantonment area are in the worst conditions as there were no central funds for their upkeep and repairs for the past several years.
“The PCB-run gardens are becoming breeding grounds of anti-social activities as no attention is being paid towards their maintenance due to lack of funds. At the same time, the growing menace of hawkers and illegal constructions in violation of the Cantonment Act were compounding the problems further. Despite constant follow-up by board administration and the citizens, GST funds are not being released ,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“The PCB-run gardens are becoming breeding grounds of anti-social activities as no attention is being paid towards their maintenance due to lack of funds. At the same time, the growing menace of hawkers and illegal constructions in violation of the Cantonment Act were compounding the problems further. Despite constant follow-up by board administration and the citizens, GST funds are not being released ,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Amit More, youth leader, said, “Cantonment residents are facing issues like overflowing drainages, broken tiles, lack of footpaths, dysfunctional streetlights, potholed roads and several other civic issues which have brought down their standards of loving to a very low level.”
“GST dues are a much-needed booster for their development and both the central and state governments are lax about it,” he said.