Latest news with #MunishMoudgil
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
In May 2025, Karnataka cricket association's ignored civic officials' warning on illegal advertisements
Bengaluru: In a development that raises serious questions about Karnataka State Cricket Association's (KSCA) compliance and accountability, it has now emerged that BBMP had issued it a formal notice as early as May 13, 2025, warning against the unauthorised installation of LED advertisement boards inside M Chinnaswamy Stadium — nearly three weeks before the tragic RCB victory celebration stampede that killed 11 and injured scores more. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The civic body's notice cited Section 158 of BBMP Act, 2020, and the BBMP Outdoor Signage and Public Messaging Bylaws, 2018, both of which mandate prior written permission from the chief commissioner before displaying any advertisement in the city. The act clearly prohibits commercial advertisements without approval, and such violations are punishable with up to one year imprisonment and fines of up to Rs 2 lakh. "Installation of LED displays without permission is considered unauthorised and a violation of the law. If not removed within seven days, BBMP will take action, and KSCA will be liable to pay removal charges and penalties. A criminal case may also be initiated," said Munish Moudgil, special commissioner (revenue), BBMP. Despite the clear warning, KSCA took no action to remove the illegal LED displays, which were used again during the high-profile RCB event on June 2. The LED boards allegedly contributed to crowd congestion and blocked visibility near key exits, aggravating panic during the stampede, another official said. According to the senior civic official, KSCA was explicitly directed to remove the displays within seven days of receiving the May 13 notice, failing which the civic body would undertake their removal and recover costs along with penalties. The notice also warned of criminal prosecution under Sections 326 and 329 of the BBMP Act. "This was a preventable tragedy," said the BBMP official. "If KSCA had complied with the notice, crowd movement might have been smoother, and we might not be mourning the loss of 11 lives today."
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
BBMP readies 3 lakh notices for owners under-assessing properties
In a crackdown on building owners under-assessing their properties and paying less tax to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the civic body has decided to soon serve notices to around 2.5-3 lakh properties. The notices will come along with fines for concealing the true extent of the built-up area. According to Munish Moudgil, Special Commissioner (Revenue), the BBMP used drones to verify the extent of property declared by the owner under the self-assessment scheme and found that many had under-declared. 'Based on this, we will issue notices to property owners and ask them to pay the tax dues,' he said. According to sources, flaws were detected in almost a sixth of the 20 lakh properties self-assessed by their owners. For instance, under the Self-Assessment Scheme (SAS), a building with five floors had declared it as having only three floors. This was flagged during the drone survey carried out by BBMP in the city limits. In the notices, the BBMP will direct the property owners to pay tax for the total extent of the building, apart from levying penalties for the same. The civic agency could also go for a one-time settlement (OTS) scheme to clear the dues of these property owners, as it did with the property tax defaulters last year, sources added. The SAS, introduced in 2008, has been marred by several issues. In 2022, erstwhile BBMP – now Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) – was flooded with complaints after thousands of property owners were served notices on account of wrong zonal classifications in the SAS portal. Last year, BBMP introduced the OTS scheme for property tax defaulters. Around 3.81 lakh property owners were found to have defaulted on their taxes and were provided a chance to pay by waiving compound interest on arrears and reducing penalties by 50 per cent. The crackdown on under-assessment of properties is expected to generate additional revenue for BBMP, which has a revenue target of around Rs 5,700 crore for the 2025-26 fiscal.
