Opposition corporators in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have demanded to know the details of the State government’s property tax waiver for houses up to 500 square feet. Raising the issue at the standing committee meeting on Wednesday, they alleged that the waiver is only for a small component of the property tax while other components still need to be paid.
The Shiv Sena had promised in its manifesto that houses up to 500 square feet in Mumbai would not be levied property tax. The Sena-led BMC’s general assembly had even passed a resolution to this effect. The resolution was approved by the State government earlier this year. A government resolution (GR) was also released soon after.
Congress corporator Asif Zakaria claimed that the GR only mentions that a general tax has been waived. He said the general tax is a minute component whereas the rest of the property tax is still payable.
“The general tax of the property tax is a menial sum of 0.11% of the capital value tax of 0.349%. All other taxes such as the water tax, sewerage tax, education tax and tree tax are still applicable. So the Sena-BJP have been boasting about having waived the property tax, but instead, they have misled people,” Mr. Zakaria said.
According to him, every property is assessed based on various factors but the general tax makes up only 10%-20% of the property tax amount. “If you were paying ₹1,000 as property tax, the entire amount would not be waived. Only about ₹100-₹200 will be waived. That is not what was promised.” Mr. Zakaria has already written to the municipal commissioner in this regard.
Until the end of the last financial year, the BMC had been issuing bills as per old norms as it had not officially got a copy of the GR yet.
Samajwadi Party corporator Rais Shaikh supported Mr. Zakaria in the meeting. “If the administration has misled people, this is serious. They should clarify this soon,” Mr. Shaikh said.
Additional municipal commissioner Ashwini Joshi, who was attending the meeting, said the administration will give an explanation in the next meeting.
Meanwhile, standing committee chairman and Sena corporator Yashwant Jadhav said the Sena is firm on its promise, and if Mr. Zakaria’s allegation is true, the Sena will come up with a solution.
The property tax waiver will cost the BMC treasury around ₹378 crore.