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Residents of villages merged with PMC stage protest over interest on property tax dues
The protesters alleged that despite the state government and PMC collecting substantial taxes from the residents of these villages, they continue to be deprived of basic civic amenities such as water supply, electricity and drainage among others.
PUNE: Residents from 32 villages merged with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) along with members of the Nationalist Congress Party/NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar/SP) on Monday staged a protest at the PMC, raising objection to the imposition of 2% monthly interest on property tax dues.
The protesters alleged that despite the state government and PMC collecting substantial taxes from the residents of these villages, they continue to be deprived of basic civic amenities such as water supply, electricity and drainage among others.
NCP (SP) city unit president Prashant Jagtap said, “Though these 32 villages were merged with the PMC in phases, they are yet to receive the benefits of urban development. There is a huge backlog in the provision of roads, drainage lines, water supply, streetlights and other essential services.”
Jagtap pointed out that the state government had previously assured the residents of these villages that their property tax would be reduced. “There was even a stay on collecting property tax from the residents of these villages. However, since no final decision was taken by the government, the PMC has now started charging 2% monthly interest on dues. This is unfair to the residents of these villages,” he said.
Whereas a senior civic official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “We are only following legal process. As per the PMC rules, interest is levied on outstanding property tax uniformly—whether in the old or newly-merged areas. Since we have not received any official circular from the state government instructing otherwise, we have no alternative.”
Residents including Ashatai Sane, Gajendra More, Kishor Kamble and Puja Katkar and several NCP (SP) office-bearers participated in the protest.
Ramesh More, a resident of a merged village, said, “We were hopeful when our village was merged with the PMC. We expected better roads, gardens, streetlights, and hospitals. But progress has been very slow. Meanwhile, issues like encroachments and unmanaged garbage have worsened.”
