Reduce Wankhede Stadium’s Rs 200 crore dues charged ‘wrongly’, MCA tells Uddhav Thackeray

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), which runs the Wankhede stadium, has sought reduction of various dues it owes to the state government, the BMC and other agencies. The dues run into approximately Rs200 crore for at least five years. The MCA hosts all its matches at the Wankhede.
The state has raised bills of Rs120 crore for non-agricultural tax since 2012.The BMC has raised a property tax bill of Rs13 crore for 2019-20 and Rs60 crore in property tax arrears for five years. Police bandobast dues for five years come to Rs50 lakh per night. Observers said police bandobast is sought only for international matches and for IPL games and these would be for about 15 days.
The MCA has written to CM Uddhav Thackeray seeking a reduction in charges. Thackeray called a meeting of bureaucrats from the revenue department, BMC and MMRDA to discuss the issue. NCP president and ex-BCCI chairperson Sharad Pawar was also present at the meeting, sources said.
Sources said MCA representatives said they were charged non-agricultural tax at commercial rate when the stadium is a sports area. MCA wants property tax dues to be slashed to Rs1-2 crore per year. The BMC, MCA claimed, had charged them erroneously for open areas, and for FSI that has not been consumed since it is in the Coastal Regulation Zone. Old structures before 2010 have been levied taxes under the capital value system rather than ratable value, sources said.
MCA has also said police bandobast is part of the law and order machinery, so the stadium could not be charged for it. With MMRDA, there are some issues related to income tax, sources added. “The CM has asked the agencies to look into the issue and revert as soon as possible,” said an official. Sanjiv Naik, secretary, MCA, said they had made the request to the government in their letter. “The CM has agreed to look into the matter,” he said.