Eco-village, model way to make the villagers pay taxes

The state government has launched an innovative green scheme to encourage villagers to pay tax.

According to Jayant Patil, minister for rural welfare, “There are two conditions to avail funds through this project. First, the village should have collected a minimum of 75% tax for the first year, beginning from June. The second is that the village should plant one tree for each person, and those trees should survive for the next three years.”

Patil said that his department has sought Rs400 crore for the project, of which, the cabinet has sanctioned Rs200 crore, and the rest will follow soon.

Meanwhile, the village panchayats have to draw up plans and submit to the zilla parishad. “They have to show us their plan for growing the trees, and how they will ensure that they survive. The panchayat has to show us its tax collection, too. We want to create an ecological balance, but also want to make the villagers realise that they need to pay taxes. Maharashtra has a poor record of rural tax collection,” Patil said.

Once the plan is sanctioned, funds will be released to the village for various developmental projects. The government will set up a committee of experts to draw up plans for various projects, such as making the villages waste-free, plans for drainage outlets, sewage, connecting toilets to the drains, solar lamps, CFL lights and others.

The government has tied the plantation scheme with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme. The saplings will be provided through the NREG scheme, and will cost Rs10-20 lakh in three years.

The gram panchayats in Kolhapur district have already started implementing the scheme, and are aiming to plant 50 lakh saplings.

“The villagers have realised that we need good green cover. We have decided to plant two trees per person,” said Abasaheb Pawar, sarpanch of Shahuwadi village in Kolhapur, which has also collected a record 93% of tax due.