Change in ownership: Chandigarh residents continue to get penalty notices
Sandeep Rana
Chandigarh, July 19
With the decision of the MC House to reduce the penalty for the delay in informing about ownership from Rs 10/day to Rs 10 paise/day yet to get the final approval from the UT Administration, local residents continue to get penalty notices despite paying the property tax.
The residents lamented that the Municipal Corporation had not updated its record about ownership change and was instead penalising them. They said Rs 10/per day with compoundable interest becomes a huge amount in a few years. Most residents did not know that after registration in the Estate Office, they had to give separate info at the MC office.
Sector 45 residents Ruchi and Mukesh Kumar recently complained to the MC Commissioner. They said: “The house was transferred in our names on November 27, 2017. But the corporation’s record shows the owner’s name as Sanjeev Garg. We have been paying property tax regularly from 2018 onwards, but still got penalty notices.”
Hitesh Puri, Chairman, Chandigarh Residents’ Association Welfare Federation (CRAWFED), said: “We have been getting complaints regarding the MC charging Rs 10 per day for delay in informing it about change in the ownership after three months of registration. We will talk up the issue with the Municipal Commissioner in our next executive meeting.”
Councillor Saurabh Joshi said: “The MC should not have sent agenda of the penalty amount revision, approved in June, to the Administration as it is the civic body’s prerogative. We get so many plaints about this issue as most people do not know they need to inform the MC while they are regularly paying the levy.”
Mayor Sarabjit Kaur said: “It is digital era. All three departments – UT Administration, DC and the MC – should have better coordination. At the time of the registration, information about the new ownership should directly go to the MC and other departments concerned. I will take up this issue with the departments.”
