Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) on Friday sealed 13 shops built on the Waqf Board land located in Jaora Compound over defaulting on Rs 1.54 crore property tax. Despite repeated notices, Waqf Board did not pay property tax to IMC.
The IMC team reached the spot on Friday morning and started the sealing drive. Shopkeepers argued that they regularly pay rent to the Waqf Board and it is the board’s responsibility to pay property tax. “If the owner of the property is the Waqf Board, then it will deposit the property tax and not us,” they said. The corporation did not buy their argument and sealed the shops. There are many famous shops, car garages etc on this Waqf Board land located in Jaora Compound.
Assistant revenue officer Shailesh Kumar said that the Waqf Board has about 15,000 square feet of land in Jaora Compound area. “Apart from 13 shops, many residential houses are also built on this land. The IMC had issued several notices to the Waqf Board seeking property tax but to no avail.
“When we threatened in March to seal the shops, the Waqf Board had deposited Rs 1 lakh in the IMC’s account promising to pay the rest amount at the earliest. Waqf Board has not paid property tax for years. At present the outstanding property tax has reached around Rs 1.54 crore,” he said. ?
