State to NIT: Scrap NA cess notices, use new rules

Nagpur: Urban development ministry has directed the district collector and Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) chairman to cancel the non-agricultural (NA) cess notices issued to NIT plot owners of the city and reassess the cess afresh as per new rules framed by the ministry. The decision will give a huge relief to about one lakh plot owners in west Nagpur.
    MLA Devendra Fadnavis told the media that minister of state for urban development Rajesh Tope has fulfilled the assurance given to him on the floor of the house during the monsoon session of state legislature. “The old system of assessment which was patently unjust has been scrapped and the new system will reduce the cess to one-eight or one-tenth. The wrong assessment done by NIT and revenue had wreaked havoc in lives of thousands of Nagpurians.”
    The MLA said that plot owners were issued NA cess demand notes even up to Rs 1.5 lakh. Now the amount will come down to Rs 12,000 at the most, he claimed. The total NA cess as per old rules was over Rs 60 crore which has now come down to Rs 10 crore. Thus, Nagpurians have collectively got a relief of Rs 50 crore, he claimed.
    Replying to a query, corporator Sandip Joshi said that those who have already paid NA cess should file an appeal for getting their amount adjusted. New rules for NA cess welcomed
Nagpur: City BJP president Sudhakar Deshmukh welcomed the decision to assess the NA cess according to new rules and said that it was strange that NIT did not issue any demand notes from 1951 to 1982.
    “One fine morning they realised that they were not collecting NA cess and issued demand notes pertaining to several years. Citizens moved the court against NIT’s order and obtained a stay. The stay was finally vacated by Supreme Court in 2000.” How can plot owners be blamed for not paying NA cess, he asked.
    Civic activists M W Omkar and Ramesh Kaskhedikar said that NIT had created 52 layouts in West Nagpur since 1951 having an area of 3397.80 hectares. Out of this 1,500 hectares were reserved for roads only but plot owners were asked for pay NA cess for this area.
THE OLD
    The assessment was done at the prevailing rates. For example, if your grandfather had leased the plot in 1951 and you were issued a demand note in 2002. NIT calculated the cess for 51 years on the basis of rates prevailing in 2002
    Block assessment was done considering an NIT layout as a base. As a result you were asked to pay NA cess for roads, open spaces and parks in your layouts
    NIT levied penalty on plot owners for not paying NA cess on time which it never took for 50 years VERSUS THE NEW
    Assessment will be done as per rates prevailing at the time of lease and subsequent changes. Say the rates were hiked in 1962. You will levied NA cess at 1951 rates for eleven years. Then it will levied at 1962 rates till the time rates were changed and so on
    Individual assessment will be done on the basis of your plot area and its usage. This means you will not pay for land coming under roads and parks in your layout
    The clause pertaining to penalty will be outrightly scrapped

source: timesofindia