Ownership, tax dues of ‘Abhishek Kalighat bldg’, 16 other properties under KMC lens

Kolkata: The KMC assessment department on Wednesday reached a prime property on Kalighat Road and handed a notice, seeking information on the property's owner or owners.A senior KMC assessment department official said Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee owned a portion of the multi-storey building. "Apart from checking the property ownership, we want to know the property tax amount not paid by an influential political functionary," said the official. Civic officials said the KMC launched parallel inquiries into 17 properties, listed as owned or co-owned by Banerjee, his company or family members. While the civic assessment department is reviewing property tax dues linked to the properties, purportedly linked to Banerjee, the buildings department is checking for irregularities or deviations from sanctioned plans.According to a preliminary estimate, around Rs 18 lakh is yet to be realised from the listed properties. Of this, nearly Rs 12 lakh is reportedly due from two luxury flats in south Kolkata. An assessment department official said notices were being issued to the addresses with outstanding taxes. "We have started sending notices to the owners or co-owners for property tax payment within a specified time. If they fail to do so, we may take action," an official said.KMC's assessment department initially prepared a list of 42 properties, allegedly owned or co-owned by Banerjee but the number was later cut down to 24 and finally, to 17. Officials said notices under Section 400(1) of the KMC Act 1980 — issued for deviations from the sanctioned plan — were pasted on all the 17 addresses. Municipal affairs minister Agnimitra Paul said alterations were found in Banerjee's properties, for which permission was not sought.Trinamool shot a rebuttal to the reports, calling the campaign "false, fabricated and devoid of credibility". Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh said an attempt was being made to drag Banerjee and several others into a matter that was entirely personal and had no connection with the party. In a statement, Trinamool said media reports and posts highlighted a KMC notice, allegedly linked to multiple properties and sought to associate other functionaries with the issue. The party claimed the information was unofficially leaked and was being used to create confusion and damage the organisation's image. "The party maintains that the campaign was baseless and aimed at maligning TMC and its leaders through misleading narratives," the party statement said.MP Saayoni Ghosh, whose name was dragged into the Banerjee properties case by a section of media, posted on X: "Just saw a few forwards that one Abhishek Banerjee & Sayani Ghosh jointly own a property namely 19 D Seven Tanks Road with no mobile number as a contact. I can't say who it is but it's definitely not the Saayoni Ghosh who started from a humble background with no windfall profits made from politics till date. For those trying to defame me without any evidence—Stop Now!"Mayor Firhad Hakim said, "It is not a policy matter for us to decide whom the KMC buildings department issues notices to or under which sections. It is outside my jurisdiction. I have absolutely no knowledge about this issue." Hakim said when the building-collapse incident took place, he said elected representatives made policies and executive work was done under the commissioner, as per KMC Act. "In day-to-day matters, such as issuing notices, stopping illegal buildings or granting building sanctions, elected representatives cannot be involved," he said.