Aamby Valley sealed for tax dues, reopens within hours

Aamby Valley—the Subrata Roy-owned Sahara group’s sprawling luxury township—is located close to Lonavala and is spread over 10,000 acres.

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District officials seal Aamby Valley property on Tuesday over non-payment of taxes worth Rs 4.82 crore. Express

THE SWANKY and luxurious township Aamby Valley ran into rough weather on Tuesday with the district administration sealing the property for a few hours for non-payment of Non-Agricultural Tax worth Rs 4.82 crore, said revenue authorities. It was reopened late evening after the company issued the cheques to the authorities.

“According to the revenue department estimates, there was an outstanding of Rs 4.82 crore. Notices were issued in August and November, and finally time was given till February 29. Since the amount did not reach us, we issued orders to seal the property. It was unsealed after they paid some part of the amount and post-dated cheques were issued,’’ said District Collector Saurabh Rao.

Aamby Valley—the Subrata Roy-owned Sahara group’s sprawling luxury township—is located close to Lonavala and is spread over 10,000 acres. The township comprises residential complexes, hotels, spas, gymnasiums, conference and wedding halls, lakes, golf courses and airstrip.

The action was initiated by Mulshi taluka tehsildar, Prashant Dhage, who said that despite issuing the notices, they had not paid up and so it was decided to seal the property.

The company, in its statement, has refuted the allegations by the revenue authorities and stated that the sealing was illegal. The statement said the company, which is valued for over Rs one lakh crore, has a due of only Rs 2.53 crore that includes Rs 27 lakh in 2014-15 and Rs 2.26 crore for the present year for which they have time till March end. The company added in its statement that they have paid up after the administration insisted on Tuesday despite “having 30 days left for payment’’.

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