A significant hike in the property tax with no better civic amenities remains a prime cause for concern among residents of 23 villages that have been merged in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits.
Already, residents have been citing the bad state of civic amenities at 11 villages, which were merged in the PMC limits in 2017.
Though the inclusion of villages in PMC limits has come as good news for residents, they pointed out that owners of properties registered with the gram panchayat were paying three- to four-times less tax as compared to those in municipal areas. After the merger, even property owners in villages will have to pay higher tax. The tax amount will increase at least by three to five times, they shared.
Along with residential properties, even commercial establishments will have to pay additional tax. Residents of the merged villages are apprehensive about the payment of increased property tax since they will not get better civic amenities immediately.
Residents of newly merged areas such as Pisoli and Wadachiwadi are apprehensive about facing the same experience as that of residents in Undri, which was the last area to be merged with PMC.
Swapnil Jadhav, a businessman from Wadachiwadi, said, “Undri has become a part of the PMC but there hasn’t been much change in the residents’ lives. The area still does not get water supply from PMC, but they must pay the water tax. Besides, there’s a huge disparity in terms of property tax, different housing societies in the area are in different tax slabs.”
A resident, who has been living in Undri for generations, said that the area has become a sort of ‘no man’s land’ following the merger. “When Undri was with the gram panchayat, the main road had lights up to Mantarwadi but now the lights are missing, and no one seems bothered. Even so, the residents are heavily taxed.”
A PMC official said property taxes differed based on the completion date of the buildings. “For example, if the completion year of a building is 2017, when the area was under the gram panchayat, the property tax was lower. However, if a building with a completion year of 2018 or 2019, the property tax is higher. The civic body imposes taxes strictly based on the ready reckoner rate.”
“PMC’s general body will take a call on imposing the property tax in these villages. The amount will be decided by the civic body. The increase in property tax depends on the size and type of the property and date of construction. The hike will be higher for commercial properties,” said Vilas Kanade, head of PMC’s property tax department.
“Why should the citizens pay additional tax, if they are not getting any additional facilities? Even basic amenities, like water are a luxury for many areas in the 11 villages,” said Ganesh Dhore, an elected member representing the 11 villages.
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