Pune: Former Opposition Leaders Demand Property Tax Reform In Merged PMC Villages

Former Opposition leaders and residents' representatives have jointly submitted a memorandum to Pune Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram, urging him to reform the property tax structure applicable to the 32 villages recently merged into Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits.

The letter, signed by former opposition leaders Ujwal Keskar, Suhas Kulkarni, former corporator Prashant Badhe, and Sudhirkaka Kulkarni, founder of the Nagari Hakka Sanstha, raises serious concerns over the method of property tax collection in these newly included areas.

The activists and social workers highlighted that the state government had put a stay on tax collection, and citizens proactively paid taxes totalling ₹232 crore, fulfilling their civic responsibility. Now, it's time for the administration to reciprocate with policy corrections.

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Keskar alleged that the current procedure of tax assessment violates the provisions under MMC Act’s Section 129A. "We urged that the administration should take some corrective measures. We demand a revaluation as per legal norms. The PMC should submit a report to the state government and seek instructions for the proper implementation of Section 129A," he added.

Kulkarni, adding to the demands, said, "Implementation of Section 267A (a-d): should be there. This section, which allows for the doubling of the general tax in certain cases, should be enforced retrospectively from April 1, 2016, thereby enhancing the actual income of PMC, not just on paper. Under Appendix VIII, Clause 41, they stated that the current penalty imposition is illegal. According to the law, a 2% penalty should apply only from the due date, not the start of the financial year."

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The letters also raised demands, including:

- Waiver of Penalty (Shasti Kar): Citing Pimpri-Chinchwad’s recent waiver of penalty charges with state approval, the signatories urged PMC to initiate a similar proposal and convene a meeting of all MLAs and MPs from Pune to press the issue with the Maharashtra government.

- Interest Rate Reduction: The current annual penalty rate of 24% is termed excessive, and a suggestion is made to bring it down to a reasonable 9–10%.

- Rectification for 23 villages merged in 2021: It was highlighted that the PMC has miscalculated the base rent for tax assessment in these villages. As per the MRTP Act Section 40, these areas are designated as undeveloped and fall under the PMRDA’s planning jurisdiction. Hence, the tax should be calculated at 25% of the regular rate applicable to developed areas.

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- Huge potential for revenue growth: The letter concludes with optimism that PMC can boost its property tax income to ₹6,500 crore if legal reforms and appropriate assessments are undertaken.

The former leaders have requested an official meeting with relevant PMC officers to discuss the raised issues.