Mysuru: Due to non-payment of property tax to the tune of Rs 1.65 Crore by the Police Bhavan, the Mysuru City Corporation has issued a seizure notice to Commandant of Karnataka Armed Reserve Police which is in charge control of the property.
For the welfare of police personnel and their family members, the Police Bhavan was constructed in 2002 at the behest of the then police commissioner Kempaiah. Though Police Bhavan is functioning from 2002, it does not have a completion report. Though the taxes are being paid, they are not as per the slab.
Suresh, Assistant Revenue Officer, Mysuru City Corporation, said, “Though the Police Bhavan is functioning since 2002, it does not have a completion report, due to which it needs to pay double the property tax including fine till date which is Rs 1.65 Crore. Earlier, it was in zone 9 but after delimitation it came under zone 1. Though last year we had written a letter to them to the Bhavan authority to pay the property tax of Rs 1.65 Crore, we received a reply that that only Rs 18 Lakh would be paid. Earlier, we had also sent a notice of seizure if the payment was not made in 30 days. Now that the notice period is complete, now we have extended it by 15 days more. If it fails again, we will issue seven and three day seizure notices respectively. If Bhavan continues to be a defaulter, we will seize the property. It is a charitable trust and for each function in its premises, Rs 2 Lakh is charged.”
Ranjit Kumar, Assistant Commissioner, Zone 1, said, “I took charge as Assistant Commissioner just 15 days ago. When I came to know about property tax default by Police Bhavan, I told our authorities to issue a notice. I have also instructed the authorities to prepare a list of those properties within the department which have not paid property tax for many years. Our motto and intention are to generate more revenue for the corporation. In days to come, we will try to generate more revenue for the Corporation. Our commissioner also told us that we will have a joint meeting with the police commissioner and come up with an amicable solution.”
When this was brought to the notice of Police Commissioner K T Balakrishna, he said, “It is everybody’s responsibility to follow the law and we are also abiding by it. If we have to pay, we pay.”
Like Police Bhavan, there are many such properties in Mysuru City Corporation jurisdiction whose taxes have not been paid for the past many years.
