Big names among PMC tax defaulters

PUNE: Bollywood actor Kadar Khan''s wife H.K. Khan, managing director of Karia Hotels Ashok Karia, proprietor of Ratnadip Real Estate Ltd. Suresh Talera, proprietor of Hotel Mount View Rajkumar Agarwal and several other prominent citizens have been declared as "property tax defaulters" by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
The corporation''s Dhole Patil road ward office on Friday released a list of prominent citizens and business firms who have not paid property tax dues worth lakhs of rupees.
In an official release, the PMC has claimed that these individuals and business firms have failed to clear the tax dues despite repeated requests by civic officials. "They have not bothered to clear the taxes even after tax recovery notices and recovery warrants were served on them," the PMC statement says.
"The PMC has even disconnected water supply to some of these places.However, as the citizens are refusing to pay the taxes, we have now resolved to attach their properties," the PMC has said, urging the media to publish the names of the defaulters so that they clear the dues.
According to the statement, H.K. Khan has not paid property tax of Rs 22,045 for her row house (number 6) on North Main road, Koregaon Park, while Jayashri Gadkar has not paid tax dues of Rs 36,376 for her flat at Meera housing society in Koregaon Park.
Ashok Karia, a nominated member on the PMC''s Dhole Patil divisional ward office, has not paid property tax of a hotel owned by him at Ashoka Mahal building on Bundgarden road. The amount of tax, as calculated on March 31, 2003, is Rs 1.30 lakh.
Suresh Talera has not paid the property tax of Rs 1.59 lakh for his property at plot number two on Naylor road, while Rajkumar Agarwal has not paid tax of Rs 42,040 for his hotel Mount View on Bundgarden road.
The names, along with the properties and the tax dues of other individuals are as under:
Dr R.H. Ahuja, Connaught road "G" building (Rs 54,989); Mansaldas Rawal, Morya housing society, Naylor road (Rs 76,479); Ajaykumar Gupta, Mughal Garden (Rs 35,669); T.S. Bhal, Rakshalekha society, Koregaon Park (Rs 1.71 lakh); R.K. Johar, Ashiana Park society, Ghorpadi, (Rs 84,419); and one "Mr Raheja", River View society, Boat Club road (Rs 70,333) The PMC has refuted the claim made by Rupa R. Daswani, a flat-owner in Navyug society, Ambedkar road, that the PMC should recover the tax dues of Rs 71,357 from her tenant. The PMC has listed her as tax defaulter.
The PMC has also listed five business houses as tax defaulters. These are: Patheja Forging Pvt. Ltd. (Rs 1.19 lakh); R.K. Irani and Enterprises (Rs 1.01 lakh); Masway and Company Private Limited (Rs 68,134); Pirjade K.D.B. unit (Rs 1.07 lakh); and Sefi Maelu Trust (Rs 3.22 lakh).