VASCO
Sancoale Panchayat on Tuesday conducted a joint inspection of land in possession of Zuari Agro Chemicals Limited (ZACL) after an RTI activist Narayan Naik alleged that while ZACL had been paying tax on one house number, there were many other structures in the area.
Naik claimed that a huge amount of money in the form of taxes and rent from ZACL was due to the Panchayat.
Speaking to reporters after the inspection was conducted by Sarpanch Ramakant Borkar and other panch members in the presence of ZACL officials, RTI Activist Narayan Naik said ZACL had agreed that the employee quarters is existing since the last 40 years.
“While ZACL has been paying tax to the Panchayat on only one house number, the reality is there are many more structures under the house tax number paid by the firm.
"As such, the Panchayat has missed out on so much revenue for the last 40 years. The Panchayat can now affix a house tax after measuring the area and collect the pending house tax of these structures for the last 40 years.”
“The Panchayat must receive one-month rent per year of all these individual structures for the last 40 years and the government must support the Panchayat in recovering these pending dues which will help the Panchayat take up more development, even without government funds during the pandemic," said Naik.
Naik also alleged huge land in the possession of ZACL had been brought by a builder and that ZACL had also applied to the Panchayat to demolish the employee quarters.
"I have objected to this demolition and demanded this inspection so that the number of structures in the area is on record. The pending taxes can be collected before the structures are demolished.”
“The housing colony, employee quarters and all other structures in the land are now on record and if this inspection had not happened, these structures would have been demolished and any proof of the existence of so many structures would have been wiped out," Naik added.
