The Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) has threatened to freeze the bank account of the central government undertaking Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) for its failure to deposit the holding tax.

The HEC which has been unable to pay salary to its workers has not paid holding and other taxes to RMC from 2017. The RMC has calculated that HEC has to pay an outstanding amount of Rs 18.29 Crore. But despite several reminders and notices the HEC has not deposited even the part of the bill. Now the RMC has decided to start legal action against the HEC including freezing its bank accounts. The RMC has even taken legal consultation. Under the Jharkhand Municipal Corporation Act, the municipal body is entitled to freeze the account under section 184 (1). The restriction on the account is removed only after the defaulter settles the entire amount under the tax.

“A fresh notice has been sent to HEC to clear all dues and the bank account will be frozen. The tax has been pending for many years. RMC is facing financial constraints due to non-payment of taxes by individuals and organizations. A timely payment will always be helpful for the RMC to undertake civic works,” said an official of RMC.

However, the chief public relation officer of HEC Abhay Kanth said that he has no information that the HEC has to pay an outstanding dues to the RMC.

Only a couple of months back HEC witnessed a massive strike of staffs and labourers who demanded payment of their outstanding dues. They were angry over non payment of their salary and stopped the production also. The union minister of Heavy Industry Narendra Singh Tomar had to intervene in the matter to resolve the crisis.

But the HEC is not the single organization or undertaking that has not made payments of the tax. There are over 300 such buildings in Ranchi which have not paid taxes to RMC from the past many years. According to a rough estimate Rs 60 Crore is due to such buildings which are mostly government buildings including the Sadar Hospital, RIMS and others. The RMC has also decided to start a drive to collect taxes and in the last couple of days notices have been sent to over a dozen such defaulters. The municipal body has also decided to discontinue services to such defaulter units.