Stinking urinals and pathetic drinking water facility at single screen cinema halls are likely to be taken away from the management of those cinema halls and urban local bodies (UlBs) are likely to become custodian of these basic amenities at hundreds of halls across the State.
A letter seeking the district administration to ensure that UlBs maintain the facility of drinking water and toilets at the cinema hall has been sent from the department of Urban Development to all Deputy Commissioners.
The letter also seeks UlBs to collect taxes from the owners of single screen cinema hall owners for providing drinking water and toilet facility in the premises of those halls which at most of the places are poorly managed. The hygiene part would be addressed by the latter as the responsibility would shift into the hands of UlBs. Officials claimed that the instructions are a mere reinforcement of existing bylaws although in a different manner.
“Although cinema hall owners provide these facilities still the UlBs can do this. There is nothing new in this as cinema hall owners pay water tax and there will be separate provision of taxes for toilet facility,” said Deputy Secretary, Shashi Bhushan Mehra.
However, the Deputy Secretary, the brain behind the letter, did not justify the tax burden, saying that such provisions already exist and that it is for the UlBs to implement the provision.
Nonetheless, the department is eyeing additional revenue through the route which many hall owners suggest is superfluous and would only lead to increase in prices of tickets. Small cinema hall owners usually maintain toilets and drinking water facilities from the revenue generated through ticket sale. The latest order is additional as cinema hall owners pay entertainment tax to municipal corporations.
“We hire sweepers to clean toilets and pay water tax. We do not get any support from Municipal Corporation for cleaning toilets so the entire idea of paying taxes for toilets is unfathomable. This will only lead to increase in ticket prices,” said co-owner of Deshbandhu cinema hall of Jharia, Ajay Agarwala.
Meanwhile, the letter has confused deputy commissioners because of the nature of instructions which requires compliance from district administrations through urban local bodies. Most of the deputy commissioners have said that they will seek more clarification from the department of Urban Development before pushing the letter further.
“We have received the letter but we are not clear about how to do it. I would talk to the department to clarify the contents of the letter and to know whether we have to construct toilets,” said Ranchi DC Manoj Kumar.