Navi Mumbai: With a round Rs 1810 crore of property tax of residents from Panvel taluka, pending, Panvel Municipal Corporation (PCMC) would be planning to take stern actions to levy the tax amount.
A total of Rs 298 crore property tax was levied this year while a total of RS 1810 crore is pending from 2016 when PCMC was formed.
“There are a total of 3.50 lakh properties under PCMC. Most of them have not paid the tax ever due to which penalty has been added upon. The pending amount of Rs 1810 crore is including the penalty amount.
We have issued notices and would continue to issue stern notices to them. To help them pay the amount, time to time we come up with various schemes,” PCMC Deputy Municipal Commissioner Babasaheb Rajale said.
Kharghar forum had been fighting against the property taxing claiming it to be double taxation as the residents had paid CIDCO as well from 2016 to 2021 while PCMC is also seeking payment of the taxes.
“PCMC was formed in 2016. Since development work was not yet completed, Maharashtra Government issued a GR at the time of the formation, whereby it was promulgated that CIDCO will continue to be Planning & Development authority for Kharghar Node, till the time development work is completed.
As PCMC had not taken over from CIDCO then, the municipal body shouldn’t charge the property tax,” Leena Garad from Kharghar forum said.
Development charges as also Power supply and Infrastructure development charges (PSIDC) were already paid by all to the CIDCO, but many amenities promised in CIDCO’s Development Plan (DP) were yet to be provided.
So, property tax is not payable for an ‘underdeveloped node’, say the residents. “Why should the residents pay to CIDCO as well as the municipal body during the period of 2016 to 2021 when PCMC was yet to take over the node. Cidco stopped levying the service charge from the year 2022 but corporation is levying taxes till that period as well,” Garad added.
Meanwhile DMC Rajale said, “The residents are talking about service charge that CIDCO levied and we are asking property tax. Both are different things. Property tax will have to be paid to us itself.”
The present Writ Petition before the High Court by Kharghar Forum is kept pending in view of the fact that the Supreme Court is seized of the issue regarding the maintainability of PIL against property tax.
