The Indian Express     27.08.2012

MHCC mulls tax sops for owners who conserve heritage buildings

To encourage private owners and tenants to conserve and maintain heritage structures, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) has recommended that the state government extend financial incentives, such as tax benefits and concessional interest rate on loans, to such properties. Besides, Trusts and charitable institutions donating money to such properties may be allowed income tax deduction, the committee has said.

If the recommendations are accepted by the state and the Central government, Mumbai may well be the first metro in India to provide varied financial incentives to owners of private heritage structures. At present, among the country’s large cities or metros, Hyderabad is perhaps the only one that specifically waives 50 per cent of property tax for such structures.

“The recommendations were drafted by the MMRDA’s heritage conservation wing under former Mumbai municipal commissioner D M Sukhthankar. The previous heritage committee had in 2010 approved these. We have studied them again and forwarded them to the state government for approval,” said V Ranganathan, MHCC chairman. He added that the committee has not yet discussed the possibility of drafting stricter regulations against wanton demolition and alteration to heritage properties.

In the list of incentives, a copy of which is available with Newsline, the MHCC chairman stated: “It is a normal experience that penalties and punishments, which are difficult to implement due to considerable difficulties experienced in the administration having large span of control, never act that effectively. The committee feels that the incentive of Transferable Development Rights is not sufficient and some direct monetary benefits as well as indirect tax benefits are necessary.