Times of India: Nagpur: Monday,
March 17, 2014.
Yet another
irregularity has come to fore in Nagpur Municipal Corporation's (NMC) property
tax department. Documents obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act
have revealed that the department did not recover pending property tax for
eight years from five big plots. This hints at yet another modus operandi
adopted by officials of the department to benefit some taxpayers, while causing
the civic body major loss.
The property
tax scam involves the controversial flat schemes being constructed by Fariyas
Hotels Private Ltd. Fariyas Hotels is constructing the flat schemes on these
five plots, but the irregularity happened before Fariyas Hotels purchased the
plots.
In November
2013, TOI had highlighted the dilly-dallying tactics adopted by NMC property
tax department and Laxmi Nagar Zone office in providing information about the
property tax for these five plots. RTI activist TH Naidu had applied for
information in May 21, 2013. Naidu appealed to GM Rathod, assistant
commissioner of Laxmi Nagar Zone, on February 3. Rathod held a hearing and
pronounced order on February 12, 2014, directing officials to permit Naidu to
inspect the file and also give him all documents related to the case.
Naidu told
TOI, tax demand notes and receipts of the five plots - 3638/A/99/A, B, C, D and
E - situated in khasra no. 82 and 95 at mouza Khamla were not generated from
1968 to 2004. "Land had been converted into non-agriculture by the
district administration on July 2, 1996. Land became liable for property tax
from 1996-97. Property tax department assessed the plots following an
application on December 27, 2004, by members of the Nilawar family. Finally,
property tax was recovered from the applicants with effect from July 1, 2004.
Thus the civic body lost property tax of eight years," he said.
Naidu said
members of Nilawar family had purchased the plots from Nagpur Beghar Mitra
Gruhnirman Sahakari Sanstha Limited, with an unregistered sale deed on
September 3, 1997. "Registered sale deed was executed on February 18,
2005. Later, Fariyas purchased the plots on June 26, 2008," he said.
Naidu added
there may be many such cases. "I suspect similar irregularities happened
in remaining plots developed on khasra no. 82 and 95. Property tax from these
khasras should be audited," he said.
Rathod told
TOI, the property tax department's head office situated at Mahal has been asked
to verify whether tax was recovered from the plots before 2004 or not. "I
can comment only after detailed verification," he said.
Reacting to
Rathod's statement, Naidu said the department at Mahal has already given in
writing that it had no information about property tax paid before 2004.
Naidu said
NIT and NMC were not taking any action against Fariyas Hotels or previous
owners of the plot or the officials concerned, despite several violations
exposed by him through RTI. "Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has refused
approval to amalgamation of plots regularized under the Gunthewari Act. But NIT
approved amalgamation of these five plots and sanctioned building plan of three
multi-storey flat schemes. In fact, a layout for weaker sections had been
approved on these plots under ULC's Talegaon Dabhade scheme," he said.
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