India, March 22 -- With the current financial year drawing to a close and no announcement yet of an amnesty scheme for property tax defaulters, both activists and political leaders have welcomed the civic body's decision not to announce such a scheme.

Civic activist Vivek Velenkar said, "We were opposed to this scheme as it is unjust to honest taxpayers. Regular taxpayers would pay their property taxes in the first two months of the financial year whereas defaulters would pay taxes in the last month of the financial year with the PMC refraining from fining them under the amnesty scheme."

Velenkar said, "We sought information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and found that almost 50% defaulters are the same people who are cheatin...