E-Paper
State govt. institutions owe PCB ₹79.75 crore in property tax
According to the PCB, most of these properties are located on B2 land while some are located on B1 land, and property tax has been calculated as per the directions of the Defence Estates Office and central government rules
It isn’t the cantonment residents but government institutions such as the Public Works Department (PWD) and other state government offices that have defaulted on property tax payment to the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) for the past three years. Government defaulters including the police commissioner’s bungalow; Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief’s bungalow; collector’s residence; cantonment police station and its four chowkis; divisional commissioner’s bungalow; Meter House for Khadki water supply; telecommunication department; post and air department; TDS building; and other PWD-managed properties collectively owe more than ₹79.75 crore to the PCB.
According to the PCB, most of these properties are located on B2 land while some are located on B1 land, and property tax has been calculated as per the directions of the Defence Estates Office and central government rules. As per the PCB, the police commissioner’s bungalow owes ₹9.63 crore; CID chief’s bungalow ₹2.39 crore; and district collector’s residence ₹2.46 crore among others. The PCB has listed 31 state government properties as property tax defaulters. The PCB chief executive officer said, “We have issued notices and reminders to the occupants and PWD office for non-payment of dues and asked them to immediately pay their property tax dues.” When contacted, PWD executive engineer Atul Chavan said, “The property tax dues are paid by the government directly and it is a government-to-government transaction. The property dues have not been paid due to non-arrival of state government grants.”
Since 2017, the PCB has been facing the worst financial crisis in history due to non-payment of GST dues worth ₹600 crore by the state government. According to the board, a number of projects have been stalled due to the shortage of funds.
“We are taking up the matter with State government authorities repeatedly, but arrears are yet to be realised. We will raise the level as its adversely affecting board’s revenue,” Subrat Pal, the CEO of Pune Cantonment Board added.
The projects affected include a ₹16 crore commercial complex at Dhobi Ghat; construction of staff quarters; construction of multilevel parking facility ( ₹24 crore); replacement of water supply lines ( ₹10 crore); and beautification of gardens ( ₹10 crore) among others. The PCB is mulling leasing two of its prime properties - Golibar Maidan and Dhobi Ghat - on a 99 year lease to make up for the dismal financial condition.
