A decision that could well be an endorsement of an officer’s drive for transparency now rests with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has, for the first time in its 25-year history, proposed a survey to map properties within its limits. The proposal by NMMC commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, which was stonewalled for over 90 days by unwilling corporators across political parties, will now be sent to the State Urban Development Department (UDD).
Mr. Fadnavis will have to decide on Mr. Mundhe’s proposal, made after a Rs. 948-crore property tax scam in the NMMC came to light. Mr. Mundhe told The Hindu on Sunday that he had proposed the survey in July, but the General Body failed to take a decision for 90 days. “The proposal now will be sent to the UDD for sanction. Once the department clears it, we will go ahead with the survey,” he said.
In the 25 years since it was formed, the NMMC has been dependent on CIDCO and MIDC for data on properties in its jurisdiction. “The survey would mean an actual plotting of our properties. Encroachments, illegal possessions and disputes can be brought on paper, and those who were not paying taxes to the corporation can be made to pay it,” said Mr. Mundhe.
Over 15,000 property owners have gone missing from the NMMC’s system over the last ten years, as the property tax scam revealed, making the need for such a survey all the more immediate. While around 3,300 property owners have been notified and tax notices for a collective amount of Rs. 681 crore have been served on them, analysts say Rs. 948 crore is only the tip of the iceberg.
This is not the only proposal moved by Mr. Mundhe that is being opposed by corporators, who will be bringing a no-confidence motion against him on Tuesday. The standing committee had recently put on hold a tender to buy school kits for students in municipal schools, despite it being 25 per cent below the quoted price.
The decision to install Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) devices in structures with water pipelines measuring 20 mm or more is also being opposed by corporators, as is the one to streamline water user categories to tax heavy users proportionately. His refusal to spend on out-of-tender work in the Dr. Ambedkar Bhavan in Airoli, which corporators had demanded, has not got down too well either.
The no-confidence motion by corporators, including those from the NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena, will be discussed on Tuesday.
“I am doing my work as per the rule book. I am taking action on things which I see as illegal. People of Navi Mumbai have no complaints against me. I am opposed only by those whose interests are compromised in the last few months,” Mr. Mundhe, who was brought in as the civic chief just six months ago, said.
I am opposed only by those whose interests are compromised in the last few monthsTukaram Mundhe
