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The private company tasked by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's tax assessment and collection department to survey properties in the city surveyed three lakh more properties than the target. Consequently, an additional ₹29 crore was paid to the company, of which ₹12 crore has already been disbursed. Industry Minister Uday Samant stated that if there are any discrepancies in the drone-based survey work, an inquiry will be conducted by a committee headed by the Municipal Commissioner.
BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe had raised a calling attention motion in the Legislative Council regarding the tax collection department's survey. Gorkhe said that the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation had commissioned Sthapatya Consultant India Private Limited to survey the properties in the city. The cost of this work was ₹47 crore. The company was given an additional ₹29 crore under the guise of 'drone surveying'.
He questioned how much of this drone survey work was actually completed, who verified the payments, and whether inspection and technical test reports were obtained. He alleged that the contractor levied incorrect, illegal, and excessive taxes on citizens.
He further claimed that citizens were charged extra money through bogus measurements, incorrect entries, and under the pretext of revised tax assessments. He also alleged that senior officers were pressuring employees to sign off on the company's files to facilitate their escape before the municipal elections. He stated that there were errors in the survey, and 3,70,213 properties were not assessed for tax, demanding a thorough investigation.
Responding to this, Industry Minister Samant said that Sthapatya Consultant India Private Limited was given a target of surveying 5,80,000 properties in the city. The company surveyed an additional 3,01,000 properties, leading to the additional payment of ₹29 crore, of which ₹12 crore has been paid.
He added that while the tax for the properties was being paid for residential use, it was observed that they were being used for commercial purposes. Therefore, the increased revenue of three lakh rupees was divided. Taxes were levied based on usage. He stated that if there were any irregularities or shortcomings in this process, an inquiry would be conducted by a committee headed by the PCMC commissioner. He added that the remaining payment would not be made to the company until the inquiry is completed.
