As a Diwali gift, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has announced a waiver of six months’ rent on nearly 250 properties it has given for commercial purposes across the city. The waiver on rent will be given from April to September 2020, when the country was under lockdown due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and businesses suffered majorly. The total amount of the rent for this period is Rs 54,80,078.
These properties include 103 Divyang stalls, 91 kiosks, three food courts/ restaurants, two boating infrastructure, nine ponds, 22 food centres, 43 community centres, and multipurpose buildings, including gymnasiums.
Civic chief Abhijeet Bangar said Navi Mumbai is the only corporation in the state to lend a helping hand to the tenants of municipal properties which are in financial crisis due to the pandemic.
Another civic official said it is the responsibility of the local body to take measures to help during a calamity under the Maharashtra Municipal Act. In addition, there is a decision by the Madras High Court on a writ petition regarding waiver of “license fee” during the lockdown period. “The NMMC commissioner and administrator has taken this decision in public interest, taking into account the legal provisions and guidelines in the Madras HC judgment,” he said.
