Under fire for withdrawing the decades-old 40 per cent concession scheme on property tax for self-occupied residential properties in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the Maharashtra government led by BJP-Shiv Sena combine Wednesday approved the proposal to continue with the scheme. The decision has come ahead of elections of the civic body that are pending over the reservation issue in the Supreme Court.
“The state cabinet has accepted the demand of the public seeking continuation of the concession scheme in property tax and has approved the proposal as assured in the past,” said Higher Education minister Chandrakant Patil, who is also the Guardian Minister of Pune.
The 40 per cent concession in annual taxable value and 15 per cent concession in the annual rent against the existing 10 per cent have been restored, he confirmed. The civic administration said that it would send revised property tax bills issued to the residents for 2023-24. There are a total of over 11 lakh such properties in PMC.
“It has been decided that the concession scheme would continue from April 1 this year while the increased amount from 2019 till now has been waived off. Those who have paid the increased property tax then, their amount will be adjusted in future payments,” Patil said.
The discount scheme has been applicable since 1970 after the general body had passed a resolution, citing damage to properties because of flooding of the Mutha river due to a breach in the Khadakwasla dam in 1961. The flood claimed around 1,000 lives and rendered 65,000 people homeless. The move was aimed to help people save money to repair and maintain their damaged properties. However, the resolution was cancelled by the state government in 2019 after objections by the state audit department citing there was no amendment in the legislation related to it. This led to unrest among the residents due to the financial burden on them as the civic administration issued property tax bills without the concession.
The Opposition had staged a protest in the state legislative assembly demanding continuation of the 40 per cent concession scheme for property tax in the city while the ruling alliance had termed it a drama after it was clear that the state government was accepting the public demand.
