PUNE, JUNE 6: Municipal Commissioner Arun Bhatia's special drive to recover property tax arrears seems to have sent panic buttons pressing among corporators. Several of them, including Mayor Datta Gaikwad and leader of the House Chandrakant Chhajed, have started paying their long-pending dues to the corporation.The PMC tax assessment department has prepared a list of corporators or their close relatives, who own property in the city jurisdiction. The names of Dilip Tupe (Rs 12,260), Mohan Kambale (Rs 3305), Shashikala Kumbhar (Rs 1300), Dayaram Rajguru (Rs.2844) and Vijay Mohite (Rs.947) figure in the list of defaulters while several of them had made partly payment of their arrears.
The chairman of transport committee Prakash Lodha owes Rs 11,8970 to the corporation. Ashok Mehendale (Rs 16.239), member of education board and Rajendra Bhange (Rs 7,738), member of transport committee are also yet to pay their arrears. Mayor Datta Gaikwad, who owns five properties in Aundh, paid Rs 27,356 on May 25 while leader of the House Chandrakant Chhajed paid Rs 6,220 on May 21 for his two properties in Bopodi.
Most of the corporators had paid their arrears in the last week of May when the PMC had intensified its drive to recover the dues. The corporators, who had paid their tax include Kazi Batul (Rs 3,315), Uday Joshi (Rs 1,275), Shantilal Suratwala (Rs 8234 for two properties), Ramesh Khanna (Rs 56,825 for four properties), Bhaganbai Jadhav (Rs. 4919), Alka Patil (Rs 9,880) and John Paul (Rs 1,013).
The corporation has so far recovered Rs 1.19 lakh out of Rs 1.81 lakh from the corporators. Most of the corporators had paid the taxes after March 31, which was the last date to pay the arrears.
Besides, the department had also prepared another list of property owners, who are close relatives of politicians. Shiv Sena MLA Shashikant Sutar owes Rs 12,244 for his property in Kothrud. Besides, his relatives including wife and former corporators Rasika Sutar (Rs 29,107) have not paid any arrears. They are Shankarrao Sutar (Rs.34957) and Umakant Sutar (Rs. 59,021).
The other relatives of the corporators, who are yet to pay their arrears are Baburao Patil (Rs.1,992), Krishnabai Amrale (Rs. 3571), Digambar Jagtap (Rs 3,913) and Govind Keskar (Rs 948).
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.