Shelar red-faced and ripped of responsibility

Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Pathak on Tuesday decided to take on the responsibilities of the anti-encroachment and sky sign departments that was held by Deputy Municipal Commissioner Ramesh Shelar,after allegations were levelled against the latter’s wife Sharda for illegal constructions on property owned by her at Warje Malwadi.

In a notice issued by Pathak to Shelar,the former sought reply from the latter on failing to pay taxes for the property owned by his relatives as well as on the commercial use of the property. “The reply should be filed within three days,” a PMC press statement read. It further stated that Shelar is being relieved of the responsibility of the departments with immediate effect.

The PMC action comes after newspaper reports on 13 flats in the name of Sharda Shelar,wife of the civic officer,in Warje Malwadi,for which she had not paid the taxes since 2003. After PMC issued a notice,Shelar deposited the property tax of Rs 6.11 lakh.

In a more recent report,it was revealed that the building has two mobile towers installed on top of it,for which no taxes had been paid,neither had they been registered with the PMC. The building was being used for commercial use,it was reported. There were also illegal constructions in the parking lot and the civic administration had reportedly ignored it.