Nagpur News: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), which is already a ”sunken ship” on the financial front, and, has been finding itself helpless in even paying salaries to its employees, is being conned by Mahal-Gandhibagh Zone property owners. The property owners are stealing the property tax in crores and crores in daylight. Out of approximate population of 2.50 lakh of the Zone, only 23,000 citizens are paying the property tax. Most importantly the headquarter of Property Tax Department is in the Zone itself, and still there is no information regarding reassessment of properties with the Department. The Standing Committee Chairman Avinash Thakre and the Property Tax Committee Chairman Girish Deshmukh were shocked to find a colossal difference between the population figure and the tax paid figure of citizens submitted by the Department officials. The outraged Thakre and Deshmukh immediately ordered the officials to submit a status report within three months and also gave a dressing down to them for not informing the two bosses about a reassessment of properties. Both were holding a review meeting. The population of Mahal Zone is 2,06,535 and 23,196 houses are being estimated for Property Tax. There are a total of 6000 business houses. If the percentage of these figures is drawn then 12 persons live in a house. This figure is the bone of contention. In simple words the doubtful. This Zone includes areas of Mahal, Itwari, New Shukrawari, Satranjipura, Hansapuri, and others. However, the thickly populated and a hub of trade filled up the NMC coffers by only Rs 9.50 crore by way of Propoerty Tax last year. Both Thakre and Deshmukh also reviewed the Nehru Nagar Zone. The Zone consists of a population figure of 1,57,477 out of which estimation of 51,576 properties is carried out for Property Tax. The Demand Notes of total Rs 16.12 crore were issued out of which Rs 12.8 crore were recovered last year. This Zone surveyed 70 per cent of properties during the entire year. The review meetings were attended by NMC’s Additional Deputy Commissioner Ravindra Kumbhare, Chairmen of both the Zones. The Property Tax estimation would be reformed according to the NMC’s Zone-wise administration functions. Presently, the areas, Property Tax and Water Tax fields are separate under the Zonal Administration. All these aspects would be brought under one roof, Thakre said.
