The proposal to impose tax was taken at the first meeting of the newly elected councillors on Thursday. A formal decision will be taken at the next council meeting.
“We have many illegal structures in our jurisdiction. They have been taking all the services provided by the municipality, but are not contributing to the municipal treasury in the form of house tax. While discussing the pending recovery of dues, we agreed to impose house tax on illegal structures, which can generate some income for the municipality. A decision will be taken at the next council meeting,” said MMC Chairperson Deepak Naik.
The pending recovery of dues was one of the main issues discussed at the meeting. The council has decided to appoint T K Pawse as an administrative-cum-financial consultant and offer him a package of Rs 25,000 per month.
The councillors have also decided to hold a meeting on November 20 to elect an eight-member standing committee and other committees.
of education, market, sanitation, public health, and solid waste management. Naik also decided to hold a special meeting to discuss the issue of arrears, which have crossed Rs 11 crore and hit the MMC financially.
Councillor Kritesh Gaonkar raised the issue of increasing encroachment on municipal properties. He charged that MMC officials themselves could not identify municipal property in Ward 25, where a party had encroached on municipal land. He also the MMC had issued a show cause notice but failed to follow up the matter.
“This is serious and we need to put a stop to encroachments. If required, MMC should file an FIR against the people involved in encroachment and those who have been making attempts to sell municipal property, which is illegal and needs prompt action,” said Goankar.
Chairperson Naik requested the councillors to identify the municipal properties in their respective wards and report to the MMC if any encroachments are found.
Meanwhile, a few opposition councillors expressed disappointment at the way MMC decided to select a consultant for the recovery process.
Councillor Murari Bandekar questioned the chairperson on whether the MMC had followed the appointment procedure and pointed out that some MMC officers were holding additional charge, due to which the recovery process was getting affected.
“We have officers, but many of them are holding additional charge at MMC. How is the appointment of a consultant of any help when these officers are not holding permanent charge? Also, has the MMC made any attempt to find out if anyone else is interested in the job of consultant?” said Bandekar.
