Despite the law clearly stating that every illegal construction in the city is to be levied with twice the amount of property tax as penalty, designated officers from BMC's assessment and collection department rarely report such constructions, revealed an officer from the department.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2015 had passed a circular binding every illegal construction to a fine. The objective for this move was to curtail illegal constructions as well as increase the revenue.
"Designated officers report very less illegal constructions in their jurisdiction. Thus we do not have exact data on how many illegal constructions are not paying penalty charges," said the officer on the condition of anonymity.
The officer said, "As per the circular issued in October-November 2015, all illegal constructions after April 1, 2010 have to pay double the property tax as penalty. A designated officer was posted in every ward/region to identify illegal construction in their jurisdiction, serve them notices and take actions as per law. We levy penalty charges only to those illegal properties which are reported to the assessment and collection department, which is quite rare."
Advocate Vinod Sampat, an expert in real estate and cooperative matters, said, "The BMC has a mastery in corruption. The officers are involved in corrupt practices, which is why very less illegal constructions are reported to the head office. The only way to curtail these practices is to appoint next level officers to analyse the actions taken by designated officers. But the BMC will never put all this on record. It does not pay heed to residents' complaints and is suppressing RTIs."
The BMC officer added, "We are thinking of issuing a revised circular. The assessment and collection department does not have a ready data as of now on illegal constructions as our systems are upgrading."
FLOUTING NORMS
- The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2015 had passed a circular binding every illegal construction to a fine
- The objective for this move was to curtail illegal constructions as well as increase the revenue
