MBMC gets court nod to collect tax from tower cos

In a major respite for the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC), the Mumbai High Court on Thursday cleared obstacles for collecting regular tax arrears from telecom companies towards installation of mobile towers.

The directions were in response to a petition filed by a leading telecom tower company seeking directions refraining the civic body from taking coercive steps and unlock the sealed towers.

Determined to mop-up 100 % of potential tax revenue, civic chief Dr. Naresh Gite personally remained present in court to effectively petition the case on behalf of the civic body.

Even as the legally installed mobile towers generate an annual revenue of Rs. 5 crore, the unauthorized ones which have been set up on the residential and commercial buildings have deprived the civic body of funds amounting Rs 20 crore for the past several years. As per rough estimates, the number of towers in the city is pegged at 506. Unconfirmed reports, however, claim the figure is much higher. “As per the court orders, we have initiated process to recover regular taxes. In case of non-compliance, notices will be issued followed by attachment and auction process,” confirmed, Gite.

While many towers are yet to get official nod under the standard norms and guidelines laid down by the authorities, some which have been granted permission have failed to re-validate their annual contract with the MBMC.

Most of the companies had moved the judiciary seeking deemed permissions restraining the civic body from carrying out any type of coercive action.

Permission for tower erection is deemed to have been given if the application was not disposed of within a stipulated timeframe.