India, July 15 -- Residents from 32 villages merged with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) along with members of the Nationalist Congress Party/NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar/SP) on Monday staged a protest at the PMC, raising objection to the imposition of 2% monthly interest on property tax dues.

The protesters alleged that despite the state government and PMC collecting substantial taxes from the residents of these villages, they continue to be deprived of basic civic amenities such as water supply, electricity and drainage among others.

NCP (SP) city unit president Prashant Jagtap said, "Though these 32 villages were merged with the PMC in phases, they are yet to receive the benefits of urban development. There is a huge backlog in the ...