KDMC on property tax

The central suburbs of Mumbai are witnessing change as civic body commissioners are displaying positive aggression in matters of public interest. While Thane’s municipal commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal ordered demolition of legal and illegal structures to unclog & clear the station road area, in a fresh move, KDMC’s commissioner E Ravindran took property tax defaulters to task by attaching their properties last week.

On March 8, the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) sealed offices of highest property tax evaders in the city which include prominent names like Roop Sangam shop, theaters at SM5 mall, JP resort and even the office of Poddar Developers. They have defaulted on payment of property tax not only for the year 2015-2016 but for past many years.

“In the past, these defaulters got away without paying their dues as the earlier municipal commissioners refrained from taking strict action. But now, we have strict orders to seal and auction the properties of tax evaders,” said a KDMC official who refused to be named adding that the current commissioner E Ravindran spares nobody and this was amply evident during the demolition drive near Kalyan station for road widening in January this year.

The outstanding amount of unpaid tax for each of the above defaulter is JP resort Rs10.16 crore, SM 5 theaters Rs. 2.58 crore, Roop Sangam shop Rs. 70 lac and Poddar Developers Rs. 89, 22,792. KDMC will auction the properties confiscated from tax evaders this week. “If they pay off their dues along with penalty, their properties will be unsealed,” added the official.