Appoint civilian as cantt chief

Seven elected members – Suresh Kamble, Baliram Sawant, Satish Tyagi, William Smith, Prakash Hiwarkar, Dnyaneshwar Yadav, Suresh Gandhi — and Moze threatened an indefinite hunger strike if the board did not revise the property tax rates and ensured adequate water supply.

Moze said the board had surplus funds of Rs 18 crore as also the Rs 60 lakh allocated by him from the MLA’s fund to solve the water problem. But board officials continued to be apathetic to the woes of citizens, he said. Alleging that the administration had collapsed, he cited the example of the Cantonment General Hospital where the X-ray machine has not been functioning for four months.

The elected members have placed 10 demands before the board. They include scrapping of the increased property taxes, rehabilitation of the stalls near Holkar bridge, acceptance of rent from stall owners, proper sanitation in slum areas, regular board meetings and repair of the treatment plant.

Moze alleged that he received a rude response from principal director of defence estates Malati Krishnakumar when he urged her to come to the cantonment and see the problems of the residents.

Vice-president Suresh Kamble said despite receiving over 250 objections from citizens on property taxes, the CEO has declared the taxes as implemented saying no objections had been received.

CEO Ajay Kumar refuting the charges, said he was unnecessarily being targeted. “We have initiated steps to solve the water problem by ordering a booster. Since this has to be fabricated, it will take at least a month,” he said. He said he had nothing to do with the hike in property tax. “Satish Tyagi, Dnyaneshwar Yadav and Col. S.J. Singh were members of the assessment panel that decided the rates and the resolution was passed unanimously by the board,” he said.