Fee shortfall recovered in 40 zone-change cases, HC told
To deal with the underassessment of
zone-change fees
, 47 assessment orders for the recovery of the fee shortfall have been issued, the town and country planning (TCP) department has told the high court.
Of these, in 40 cases, additional fees as stipulated by the
revised assessment orders
have already been recovered, Vertika Dagur, holding the additional charge of the chief town planner (administration), submitted to the high court.
In the remaining cases, the
TCP department
has rescinded the notifications issued under Section 17(2) of the TCP Act after the parties did not pay even after the expiry of the seven-day deadline, she said.
The TCP department told the HC that of the 120 cases in which petitioners have alleged irregularities, only 47 applications were received prior to the notification in March 2024 when the fees were hiked from Rs 200 per sqm to Rs 1,000 per sqm.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
If you have a mouse, play this game for 1 minute
Navy Quest
Undo
The fees were assessed after the notification, the department added.
The high court is hearing a PIL alleging that the TCP department underassessed fees for the conversion of zones under Section 17 (2), causing a loss of crores to the exchequer.
The petitioners told the court that the TCP department deliberately underassessed fees, applying the old rate of Rs 200 per sqm instead of Rs 1,000 per sqm.
The high court last month directed the chief secretary to examine the allegations, observing that if found to be correct, they are 'quite serious as they directly affect the revenue of the state, ultimately the public exchequer'.
Moreover, the high court called for a thorough inquiry into the matter, considering the huge loss of revenue that could have occurred but for the timely objection of the finance department.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Demand to extend Kundannoor-Angamaly bypass to Kodungallur
Kochi: Aiming to decongest the key road stretch connecting Kodungallur and Angamaly, a fresh demand is being raised to extend the ongoing Kundannoor-Angamaly Bypass Road project on national highway (NH) 544 up to Kodungallur. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Benny Behanan, MP, has approached Union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari with the demand to construct a six-lane highway connecting Kodungallur and Angamaly. The MP said that the minister promised a proper step on the demand. NHAI has begun land acquisition procedures for the bypass road of NH 544, from Kundannoor to Angamaly, and the processes are in the final stage. "Linking the proposed Kundannoor-Angamaly highway with Angamaly-Kodungallur Road by constructing a six-lane highway towards Kodungallur from Angamaly town will help reduce traffic congestion in Kochi city and its surrounding areas. If the six-lane highway is constructed, it will enable travellers from northern part of Kerala to reach Kochi airport and cargo vehicles to reach Vallarpadam container terminal without any hindrance and in a timely manner. Additionally, the project will contribute to commercial progress of these regions," said Behanan. The MP has demanded the Union minister to include the project, which costs around Rs 2,500 crore, in the Bharatmala project or the national highways development project. During his meeting with Gadkari, Behanan pointed out that NHAI authorities are turning a blind eye to the public demand for construction of flyovers or underpasses at Perambra, Muringoor, Chirangara and Koratti areas on NH 544 stretching from Angamaly to Thrissur. "As national highway authorities are not ready to consider the proposal yet, the stretch of highway is experiencing severe traffic congestion. The minister assured that a permanent solution will be provided for this issue," said the MP.
Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
Worker dupes acting school of 43L: FIR
Mumbai: The owner of an acting school has lodged a police complaint against his employee for misappropriating Rs 43 lakh. An FIR has been registered at Versova police station. In his complaint, owner of the school said that Prashant, hired as manager, managed the day-to-day work at the institute. Later, his brother, Pravin, was hired as an accountant. Police said Pravin had access to bank documents, debit/credit cards of the acting school owner, his wife and child. In 2023, the complainant noticed that not many students were enrolling for the course. He later learnt that Pravin had not cleared pending dues. Also, other dues for rent, electricity bills, credit card bills, stationery running into Rs 15 lakh were not cleared. Pravin switched off after which an FIR was registered on July 25. TNN You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai
Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
Kotak Mahindra Bank Q1 results: Profit slips 7% YoY; retail CV stress, high provisions weigh on earnings
Kotak Mahindra Bank reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 4,472 crore for the June quarter, marking a significant drop from Rs 7,448 crore in the same period last year. The previous year's figure, however, included a one-time gain of over Rs 3,000 crore from the sale of a stake in its general insurance business, as per news agency PTI. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now On a standalone basis, the bank's net profit declined 7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3,282 crore. The bank attributed the dip to a combination of falling core income—impacted by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rate cuts—slower fee income growth, and elevated provisions. Net interest income (NII) rose 6 per cent to Rs 7,259 crore, supported by 14 per cent loan book growth, but this was offset by a contraction in the net interest margin (NIM), which slipped 37 basis points to 4.65 per cent. According to chief financial officer Devang Gheewala, the bank's income is highly sensitive to rate cuts, with over 60 per cent of its assets linked to the repo rate. He explained that while policy rate reductions affect yields immediately, deposit rates take longer to adjust, pressuring margins. Other income grew modestly by 5 per cent to Rs 3,080 crore. Gheewala noted that income will likely pick up once regulatory restrictions are lifted, allowing expansion in digital savings accounts and credit card issuance, as per PTI. Provisions more than doubled to Rs 1,200 crore. A significant portion of this was allocated for stress in the microfinance (MFI) segment and the retail commercial vehicle (CV) portfolio. 'The provisions for MFI business have peaked,' said MD and CEO Ashok Vaswani, as per PTI. He added that disbursements in this segment have resumed cautiously and are expected to accelerate in the latter half of the year. Fresh slippages rose to Rs 1,812 crore, up from Rs 1,358 crore a year earlier, pushing the gross non-performing assets (NPA) ratio up to 1.48 per cent from 1.39 per cent. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Gheewala said that nearly 35 per cent of the new slippages originated from the retail CV portfolio. As per PTI, deputy managing director Shanti Ekambaram explained that the smaller CV operators, those with fleets under 10 vehicles, are struggling due to weak demand in goods transport, pricing pressures, and delayed payments from government contracts. However, she added that other retail loan segments, including home and personal loans, are performing well. On the housing front, Ekambaram described the lending market as not only competitive but 'irrational' in pricing. Despite this, the bank is aggressively pursuing the segment due to the long-term value and customer retention it offers. Kotak's capital adequacy ratio remains strong at 23 per cent, with a core capital buffer exceeding 21 per cent. Vaswani said the bank aims to grow its book at 1.5 to 2 times the nominal GDP growth of India. Subsidiaries contributed more than one-third of the group's profits. Kotak Securities reported a profit of Rs 465 crore, up from Rs 400 crore last year. The asset management and life insurance arms more than doubled their net profits to Rs 326 crore and Rs 327 crore, respectively.
