Kolhapur civic body cracks down on tax defaulters

Kolhapur: The civic body has started taking strict action against tax and rent defaulters since Tuesday, disconnecting water connections and sealing properties and shops for failing to pay dues on time despite receiving notices.On Wednesday, the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation's estate department sealed five shops in the Panjarpol Industrial Estate that were given on rent by the civic body. On Tuesday, the estate department had sealed three shops in Ch Tararani Market that were also given on a rental basis.KMC estate officer Vilas Salokhe said, "Instructions were given to the tenants from time to time by the estate department regarding the payment of previous arrears and the municipal corporation shop rent for the year 2025-26. As the tenants continued to be negligent in payment, five shops were sealed. The action of sealing the shop premises of the defaulters and registering a lien amount on the property will continue."Water supply connections of apartments in Chambukhadi and Puikhadi were disconnected. An apartment in Chambukhadi had an arrear of Rs 6.5 lakh, while an apartment in Puikhadi had an arrear of Rs 6 lakh.KMC water supply engineer Harshjit Ghatge said, "The water connections of both the apartments were disconnected. Notices were issued to about 8,000 defaulters whose arrears are more than Rs 20,000. For this, action will be taken to register a charge on the income of the respective arrears as per the provisions of section 481(1) and (2) of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949. Defaulters are instructed to pay the dues immediately."