By Express News Service BENGALURU: In a first of sorts for Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), officials of the Rajarajeshwari Nagar zone staged a protest outside Platinum City Apartment and Commercial Complex, for defaulting on payment of property tax. The owners have allegedly not paid tax for the past 10 years, and the total amount due is Rs 27 crore. A senior BBMP official said, “A portion of the complex, which is owned by one Illias Ulla Sharif, ‘S’ Block with commercial spaces, is yet to pay property tax. Many reminders and notices were sent, but nothing has been done. Notices were also sent, but they ignored them. So we decided to stage a protest, and as a mark of protest, we even locked up the gates and sat outside the complex. It was only after the residents requested us that we opened the gates, gave them a stern warning and let them off,” a senior BBMP official told The New Indian Express. The apartment complex has a total of 1,600 units, where 1,500 families live. The portion in contention is still with the builder. The tenants told the BBMP that they pay their taxes to the owner who in turn has not filed it with BBMP. The BBMP has given the owners a week’s time, failing which the property will be seized and sealed as per rules, the official said. “As per rules, we have the right to seize, seal, vacate the people from the property and even demolish it, but on humanitarian grounds, it was not being done till now,” he added.

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