The Times of India 04.09.2012
'Reduce penalty for illegal buildings'
The move has created resentment among people as they will have to pay double tax for the unauthorized constructions.Former mayor Yogesh Behl said while the civic general body had rejected the proposal for charging penalty from citizens, the civic administration went ahead with the move. "The penalty amounts to double the property tax for these citizens - the amount is exorbitant and unaffordable for them. The civic body is not charging any penalty for the unauthorized constructions built before January 2008.
The penalty amount should be reduced, Behl said at the general body meeting.Shiv Sena corporator Sulabha Ubale and Congress corporator Bhausaheb Bhoir, too, demanded that citizens should not be charged any penalty.At the meeting, municipal commissioner Shrikar Pardeshi, said, "The general body, in March last year, had rejected the proposal to charge penalty from the owners of unauthorized constructions. Instead, they had demanded that the unauthorized structures constructed before March 31, 2012, be regularized on the lines of the regularization done in Ulhasnagar.
However, the state government rejected this proposal."Pardeshi said the proposal rejected by the general body in March last year has been annulled by the state government that has directed the civic administration to charge penalty as per the proposal, he said.Speaking to TOI on Monday, Shahji Pawar, assistant commissioner, PCMC, said, "There are around 1.10 lakh unauthorized constructions in the city but only 40,500 were constructed after January 2008 and are eligible to be charged a penalty. The department has started sending notices regarding penalty to the owners of these constructions. We will complete sending all 40,500 notices in three months."Meanwhile, the office-bearers of the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will meet deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday to discuss the issue of penalty being imposed on unauthorized constructions in Pimpri Chinchwad city.
