Navi Mumbai: Demand for waiver of property tax up to 500 sq ft flooded

Demand for waiver of property tax of residential units up to 500 sq ft is pouring in the Panvel area. Soon after Eknath Shinde, state cabinet minister for Urban Development and PWD announced no property tax for residential units up to 500 sq feet under the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) area, politicians from Airoli to Panvel started making a similar demand.

Balaram Patil, MLC of Konkan Teacher’s Constituency has written a letter to chief minister Uddhav Thackery and demanded waiver of property tax up to 500 sq feet residential units in Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) area. Patil has written that the cost of houses in Mumbai and Thane is quite high. On the contrary, the majority of people in the Panvel area are working class in Taloja industrial area and around 40 percent of them reside in houses less than 500 sq feet. “If property tax waiver can be given to Mumbaikars, residents of Panvel also deserve the waiver,” said Patil.

MLC Patil is not alone who demanded a waiver in property tax. Pritam Mhatre, the leader of opposition in PMC has also written to the chief minister seeking a waiver in property tax for houses up to 500 sq feet. In addition, Mhatre also demanded that a 40 percent waiver should be given in CIDCO nods and 29 villages in Panvel taluka.

The PMC has started collecting property and other taxes in its jurisdiction. earlier, CIDCO was providing services and was collecting service charges. However, a section of residents is opposing dual and retrospective tax collection. Residents alleged that the civic body wants tax since it came into existence while they are ready to pay tax after the proposal was cleared in the civic body’s general body.

Earlier, Airoli’s BJP MLA Ganesh Naik had demanded that residential units between 501 and 750 sq ft under the NMMC area should also be given relief in property tax.

Naik said that city resident living in houses between 501 sq ft and 750 sq ft should also be given benefits. He said that he would demand from the administration to give at least 60 percent relief in property tax to those residents falling under that category.