Tax collector AMC gets notice from village

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), which routinely seals properties over unpaid taxes as low as Rs 10,000, has been called out for defaulting on Rs 1.15 crore in property tax owed to a village panchayat over seven years. Ginger village panchayat in Kheda district has demanded payment for water treatment facilities and other structures the city civic body built on its land.
The state govt had allocated 39,113 sq m of the panchayat land to the corporation, which built a raw water pump house and a water treatment plant with a 200 MLD capacity. While the facilities have been operational since 2010, AMC has failed to pay property tax since 2018-19.
In 2018-19, when the talati issued a notice to the AMC on behalf of the panchayat, the civic body sought tax exemption from the state govt's panchayat department, arguing that these facilities provide essential services. However, its plea was rejected during a high-level meeting on July 15, 2024, chaired by the state principal secretary and attended by key officials including the development commissioner of Kheda district, AMC's deputy municipal commissioner and estate officer. AMC was instructed to promptly pay the amount it owed to the village panchayat.
Following the decision taken in the meeting, Ginger village panchayat issued a formal notice on Oct 19, 2024, demanding tax payment for the period 2018-19 to 2024-25.
On Thursday, the civic body will seek the standing committee's approval to clear the Rs 1.15 crore dues through four instalments over three months, with each payment set at Rs 28.78 lakh. It has set up water treatment plants and raw water pump houses in Jaspur and Raska to supply drinking water to Ahmedabad city. The Raska plant falls under the jurisdiction of Ginger village panchayat.