Gaya, Jan. 11: The Kalchakra Puja organisers have got some sort of relief in terms of taxes that they were supposed to pay for organising the 10-day mega event that ended yesterday.
Bodhgaya Nagar Panchayat had demanded around Rs 79 lakh as tax from the Kalchakra Initiation Organisation Committee (KIOC) under Section 127 (i) of the Bihar Municipal Act, 2007.
KIOC sources said Gaya district magistrate-cum-chair-person of Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC) Bandana Preyashi has reduced the amount of tax on congregation to Rs 15 lakh.
The Bodhgaya Nagar Panchayat had also demanded Rs 22 lakh from the state government to ensure cleanliness in and around Bodhgaya during the puja, but only Rs five lakh had been sanctioned, said nagar panchayat vice-chairman Dinesh Singh.
At the same time, the Magadh University administration has sent a letter to KIOC, seeking ground rent on the prescribed rate of the committee. The KIOC had pitched tents on the vacant land of Bodhgaya Nagar Panchayat and the varsity campus to provide accommodation to devotees at the 10-day Kalchalra Puja led by the Tibetan spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama.
The puja started on January 1 and concluded yesterday. Bodhgaya Nagar Panchayat executive officer Sushil Kumar Mishra told The Telegraph that the KIOC had used around 19.88 lakh sqft of land to pitch tents.
The nagar panchayat had demanded around Rs 79.55 lakh from the KIOC. However, till today evening, no payment had been made by KIOC.
Magadh University registrar D.K. Yadav told The Telegraph that he has written to the Kalchakra organising committee for payment of ground rent on their prescribed rate to the institute. The registrar has also requested the committee to ensure that the pits dug on the campus for drainage system, toilets and other purposes should be filled up at the earliest.
In the letter, the registrar also requested KIOC to get the garbage cleaned from the campus and repair leakage in the water supply pipeline. The registrar said KIOC should seek a no-objection certificate from the university before leaving the campus. The KIOC pitched tents of four categories on the land of Bodhgaya Nagar Panchayat and on the university campus.
