PUNE: The housing societies in Pimpri Chinchwad have objected to PCMC’s recent circular urging housing complexes to disconnect water supply to individual flat owners defaulting on property tax payment, failing which the civic body will snap the supply of such defaulters.
The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) will start issuing notices to housing societies in this regard soon. PCMC officials said the civic body would be forced to take matters into its own hands if the society failed to act on the notices within three days of receipt.
The civic administration has cited a Feb 15 ruling of the Bombay high court in a case related to Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation as the basis for the action (see box).
“If the civic body is citing any court ruling, we will challenge the order in the court because water supply is a fundamental right of every citizen and nobody, including the civic body, can deny people this right,” Dattatray Deshmukh, the president of the Pimpri Chinchwad Cooperative Housing Societies Federation, said.
According to PCMC, around 1.77 lakh property owners in the twin cities owe Rs 580 crore in unpaid property tax in the ongoing financial year, which will end of March 31. Of this, Rs 400 crore is owed by residential property owners, while Rs 100 crore remains unpaid by the residents in slum pockets.
PCMC has earned a revenue of Rs 860 crore through property tax in the current financial year so far against its target of Rs 1,000 crore.
“The housing societies will not snap water supply to any flat. PCMC officials can do it themselves, provided they are prompt in resuming supply once the dues are paid. The housing societies should not be forced to pay for the services of plumbers for resuming connection,” Sanjivan Sangle, the president of the Chikhali Moshi Cooperative Housing Societies Federation, said.
“The HC ruling allows snapping of water connection of a flat or flats inside a housing society for defaulting on property tax. Instructions have been issued to the property tax department to start taking action against such defaulters,” PCMC municipal commissioner Shekhar Singh said.
