Opposing the proposed tax collection by the Panvel Municipal Corporation, citizens demanded that 29 villages should be excluded from the civic body. Villagers made the demand during a meeting of Tondre villagers of Taloja MIDC held on Sunday.
Unable to pay the proposed property taxes, many villages claimed that the high tax rate would make them poor.
More than 100 villagers attended the meeting and decided to intensify their demand to either waive off or slash the property tax or exclude them from the civic body. The village became part of the PMC when the civic body was formed in 2016.
"There is huge resentment among the citizens against the property tax imposed by the corporation. Villagers would intensify their protest in the next ten days," People and Workers’ Party (PWP) Corporator Arvind Mhatre said.
He added that during the meeting organized by Gramsath Mandal Tondre against the property tax collection of the civic body, they demanded the previous tax slabs or be excluded from the civic body.
"In the last five years, there was hardly any work done by the corporation and now they are collection tax similar to other civic bodies like BMC and NMMC," said Mhatre.
He added that the proposed tax collection is seven to eight times the previous tax. "Since there is no employment in rural areas due to Covid, citizens will have to sell their houses to pay taxes," added Mhatre.
"We have already submitted a letter to the civic body that 95 villages and NAINA and other project-affected persons will take out a protest march by end of the month," said Mhare.
Earlier, members of 95 villages and NAINA and other project-affected persons had burnt the copies of the proposed tax collection in front of the Kharghar ward office.
