'BMC paid MHADA Rs 590 crore as repair cess in last 12 years'

Stock photo of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation

The documents obtained through the Right To Information Act have revealed that since 2019, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has paid Rs 590 crore to MHADA as repair cess charges it recovered. The BMC's Assessment Department recovered the charges from 17,057 cessed buildings in South Mumbai.

RTI activist Anil Galgali claimed that despite collecting such a large amount of funds, MHADA and BMC has been washing away their hands to take the responsibility of illegal buildings and alterations carried out by the landlords or the tenants, inviting frequent incidents of wall and building collapses.

According to the data, in the year 2018-19, the BMC collected Rs 41.54 crore and since 2007, the highest amount of collection was made in 2009-10 when the BMC collected Rs 74.32 crore. Galgali pointed out the documents also mentioned that the BMC kept a commission of 5 per cent of the entire amount (Rs 29.7 crore) for the annual recovery of repair cess.

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