Nagpur: The state government has decided to waive the increased service charge levied on residents of 56 housing colonies of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) in Mumbai. The relief was announced on Friday by the state housing minister Atul Save in the legislative council.
Responding to a question in the upper house by senior BJP member Pravin Darekar, minister Save announced that the service charge for 56 MHADA colonies amounted to Rs 384 crore. Darekar had demanded relief to the residents by scrapping the service tax on these societies immediately.
Darekar had a few months ago facilitated a meeting with chief minister Eknath Shinde, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, another deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, housing minister Save, and representatives of MHADA housing societies in Goregaon to apprise them of the issue of increased service charges. Darekar had contended that the increased service charges had added to the financial burden of the mostly middle-class owners living in MHADA apartments.
The service charges for these colonies had earlier been raised by 50%, significantly impacting the apartment owners. Announcing the relief, Save explained that the decision to waive the hiked service charges was taken after it was found that there was a huge difference of Rs 384 crore between the old and new taxes. "The government will cover the fund gap for MHADA," Save added.
