Transport Department yet to pay Rs 5 crore property tax to Shimla Municipal Corporation

Sameer Singh

Shimla, May 5

The state Transport Department has not cleared outstanding property tax dues running into crores for the past many years. With the department not even making a partial tax payment for a long time, the pending amount has been increasing with each passing year.

Official cites HRTC’s poor fiscal health

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We are not in a position to pay pending property tax as financial position of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) is not good. We have written to Secretary, Transport, for a tax waiver but to no avail. Sandeep Kumar, MD, HP bus stand development management authority

As per the data procured from the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC), the state Transport Department has outstanding property tax dues of more than Rs 5 crore.

Senior corporation official said despite notices being served to the Transport Department on numerous occasions, the latter has not bothered to clear the pending amount along with interest.

A senior MC official requesting anonymity said unlike other major defaulters, who make a partial payment of their outstanding dues when served notices, the Transport Department has remained unmoved. He said that the department had pending tax dues for the two ISBT complexes in the city.

As per the records, the SMC had set a target to recover Rs 25.43 crore outstanding property tax out of which it has managed to collect Rs 18 crore.

Sources said since the pending amount is large, the Transport Department has written to the government seeking some relaxation on it.

When contacted, SMC Commissioner Ashish Kohli said, “We have managed to recover a large part of outstanding property tax dues from defaulters. Issuing notices of disconnection of electricity and water supply connections have yielded positive results as defaulters have started making payments in instalments. We have issued notices to the state Transport Department a number of times but have not received payment of pending property tax that has crossed Rs 5 crore.”

Anupam Kashyap, Director, state Transport Department, said, “The department does not pay property tax to the SMC. It is the bus stand development management authority that pays tax dues.”

Sandeep Kumar, MD, HP Bus Stand Development Management Authority, said, “We are not in a position to pay pending property tax as financial position of the HRTC is not good. We have written to Secretary, Transport, for a tax waiver but to no avail.”