The district and sessions court, Thane has sought a complete waiver of Rs91,03,192 billed by the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) towards Open Land Tax (OLT) for the First-Class Judicial Magistrate and Civil Judge (junior division) court in the Hatkesh area of Mira Road. The MBMC had been sending reminders to the state public works department (PWD) for clearing the OLT arrears, the latest being on May 8. The PWD officials informed the judiciary about the arrears, following which principal district and sessions Judge, Thane, Abhay Mantri wrote a letter to the municipal commissioner seeking waiver of the OLT amount while citing several reasons which had led to the delay in completing the construction work and the current status.
Open Land Tax (OLT)
Not failing to mention that the OLT arrears seemed astronomical, the judge also apprised the MBMC of the fact that the court building and its annexures are going to be used for the sole purpose of dispensing judicial services to litigants, therefore they should consider waiving off the taxes in totality. More than a decade after the government gave its nod for setting up the court on a 4,200 sq.mt plot (survey number 233) to address legal issues, in the twin-cities, the structure still awaits completion. The court building structure stands completed, however, final touches including flooring, interiors, furniture, fixture, electrical and other residual work has been lingering for the past more than five years.
While budgetary provisions for the court building has been revised from Rs7.63 crore to Rs11.48 crore owing to the inordinate delays, funds amounting Rs9.18 crore has been allocated for interior work and construction of housing units to accommodate the judges which is still in its early stages of construction.
Slow Pace Irks Lawyers, Cops and Litigants
With thousands of crimes registered each year, the rapid development of both the twin-cities compared to other regions in the district had put immense pressure on the available resources. Lawyers and litigants who have to travel all the way to Thane for legal work. Notably, the erstwhile rural policing apparatus has been elevated to commissionerate status by combining Mira-Bhayandar and Vasai Virar in 2020. Currently there are 17 police stations and cops too are compelled to drive through the busy roads and highways with suspects and accused to produce them before the court in Thane.
(To receive our E-paper on WhatsApp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
