Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis directed the Pune Municipal Corporation on Friday to “work out a solution” to provide relief to residents by reversing its decision to cancel the 40 per cent discount on property tax.
After the discount, effective since 1970, was cancelled in 2018, lakhs of property owners in Pune were billed double or triple the amount as property tax. There have been demands from all quarters to restore the discount.
A statement from Fadnavis’s office said that a decision on the matter was taken at a meeting called by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the former to discuss issues related to the city.
“The 40 per cent tax exemption given to property tax within Pune municipal limits was earlier cancelled. The DCM instructed the PMC to immediately work out a solution that would give relief to the citizens of Pune by reversing the decision to end the concession,” read the statement.
Minister Chandrakant Patil, Shambhuraje Desai, other elected representatives and senior administrative officers attended the meeting.
A delegation of BJP leaders from Pune recently met the chief minister and the deputy chief minister over the issue. Newly elected Kasba Peth MLA Ravindra Dhangekar, Congress state president Nana Patole, former chief minister Ashok Chavan and Congress MLA Amin Patel gave a notice in the Assembly on the issue on Wednesday.