The Indian Express   08.08.2012

Rents unpaid, civic body to take back properties

The PMC standing committee has asked the civic body to take possession of property occupied by a former MLA to run a training centre without any formal contract as well two halls in a school building where a former mayor runs a Trust.

The property occupied by the Trust has been caught in row over rents not being paid, and the MLA owes the civic body Rs 1 crore, MNS corporator Baby Wagaskar had alleged and registered a complaint. The civic body had asked them to pay the rent and vacate the place.

Standing committee chairman Baburao Chandere told the media that they have demanded that the civic body take possession of the two properties.

The civic land lease policy bans PMC from selling its properties, but allows them to be leased for 30 years. The PMC owns about 3,500 properties reserved for hospitals, community halls, libraries, schools and other amenities and has allotted many of its properties, including open spaces on lease for various purposes.

There, however, is no system in place to check whether the properties are being used for the purposes they have been leased out. The PMC that has nearly 150 properties at prime locations has been not recovering rent from hundreds of properties for several years.

The standing committee has also approved funds for acquiring land in the city and has decided to spend Rs 7.5 crore for the purpose.