Schools & Colleges should be taxed at residential rates

NMC has been hitherto unable to provide records of property tax accounts on orders of state information commissioner.  It has emerged from the findings of an RTI application that the civic body does not levy a common rate of property tax on schools and colleges in its jurisdiction.

Consumer activist Shankar Gulani has obtained information under Right to Information (RTI) Act that shows that while most schools and colleges are levied tax at residential rates, taxes of a few are being assessed at commercial rates. As per the Municipal Act, schools & colleges whether aided or non-aided should be taxed at residential rates.

The educational bodies which are being charged at commercial rates are unaware of this random functioning of the NMC. These schools are paying double the taxes they should be paying as per law.

The information given by Dhantoli zone under the RTI filing reveals the level of arbitrariness in property tax department. Out of the 13 educational institutes paying property tax to NMC, Bhide Girls High School, Bhide Girls Primary School, Dinanath High School, Bengali Education Society, Sule High School, Mount Carmel Girls School, Oswal Education Society and Pragati High School are charged property tax at residential rates, whereas Matru Sewa Sangh maternity home, South Indian Education Society, Shivaji Science College and New English School are charged at commercial rate.

The RTI activist had gathered data on this random taxation model zone wise. Only 8 out of 10 zones provided a response. Despite warnings from the Information Commissioner, the NMC officials have not provided complete records soght by Gulani in his demand notes.