Lack of proper upkeep or maintenance of records is causing losses to the state departments in cases of vested lands.
[File Photo]
Lack of proper upkeep or maintenance of records is causing losses to the state departments in cases of vested lands.
According to mayor Firhad Hakim, there are many state government-owned properties that are facing encroachments. The problem, according to the mayor, is lack of proper maintenance by various departments of the state government. There are also no records of some of the vested lands of the government. As a result, the assets are occupied by encroachers. “Sometimes we get the report and try to recover the land from encroachers. There was one such property near Prince Anwar Shah Road Crossing, which we recovered and constructed a boundary wall around it. Sometimes, the department does not even know that the vested land belongs to it. This, apart from safety and security, is causing the problem of loss of the assets of the government,” pointed out Mr Hakim, who is also the minister for state urban development and municipal affairs department.
As reiterated by the mayor, in some cases, a case is being filed at the court which remains pending for long. As informed by Mr Hakim, a land at Chetla is faced with a similar pending court case and the property is continued to be used illegally.
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Meanwhile, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation is considering issuing separate tax bills for owners and occupiers. According to Mr Hakim, this will help in reducing burdens on the land owners or even in disputed cases. In cases of old buildings and their owners, as time progresses and the rent is charged at the current rate, it pinches them. To avoid such situations, the civic body is considering going back to the old system of separate tax bills for owners and occupiers.
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