Palike faces HC music on beggars cess

BANGALORE: The High Court on Thursday lashed out at BBMP for keeping the money collected as beggars’ cess through property tax which is yet to be fully deposited with the Central Relief Committee (CRC) which runs rehabilitation centres for beggars.A division bench comprising Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice Ashok B Hinchigeri, hearing a PIL , observed that the BBMP which acted like a trustee by collecting beggars’ cess was doing what Justice Soumitra Sen did by collecting and keeping public money and using it for its own purpose.“How can you (BBMP) use beggars’ money? More than half of the money collected from 1976 to 2009 amounting to over `30 crore is yet to be deposited with the committee.If you cannot, we shall take over your properties, the cars of the corporators,” bench observed.“It amounts to nothing but misappropriation which would lead to serious consequences,” the CJ said.Coming down heavily on the BBMP, the court strictly directed it to deposit the remaining amount collected as beggars’ cess to the Central Relief Committee in two weeks.It also directed the BBMP to file a report on the details of the money collected as beggars’ cess within four weeks.The BBMP, through a notification in August 1976 started collecting one percent as beggars’ cess through property tax.Between 1976 and 2009, it collected around `74 crore and it has deposited only Rs 44.3 crore with the Central Relief Committee till now and the remaining is to yet to deposited.The BBMP admitted delay in depositing the amount as most of the cheques deposited for property tax have bounced and it does not collect the beggars’ cess separately