kolkata: Mayor Firhad Hakim, has informed that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has approached the court to collect a huge amount of pending property taxes for a residential property in South Kolkata while the civic body may also seek to cloak the property in case they can’t retrieve the due taxes.
The residence concerned is located in Lake Gardens in ward 93. A resident of the property, who identified herself as Jamuna Ghosh, a senior citizen, called the Mayor earlier and complained that the second floor of the house, which belonged to her deceased brother-in-law, has been illegally occupied by some miscreants at the order of a local promoter.
She informed the Mayor that the building was in the name of her husband Tushar Kanti Ghosh and his brother NK Ghosh. She said that her brother-in-law passed away and his son is absconding. The portion was left to the care of a caretaker who allowed illegal occupation.
Although she has cleared property taxes for her portion of the building, a huge amount of tax is pending for the portion belonging to the brother-in-law. The pending amount is Rs 10 lakh approximately. She insisted that the KMC take over that portion of the property.
Hakim said that KMC has gone to court to recover the pending taxes. “In case we fail to recover the due amount of taxes, KMC will cloak the property and auction it to recover the due taxes. We will see if the property can be attached in case the occupiers of that portion do not clear the huge tax dues. We learnt that some outsiders have been illegally occupying that portion of the house and they do not even pay any rent,” he said.
The complainant alleged that she and her aged husband are being threatened by the promoter to vacate their portion so that the building can be demolished for a new real estate project.