Ranchi, Sept. 30: While moviegoers in metropolitan cities get treated to ?bigger and better? with each passing day when it comes to the pleasure of watching movies at cinemas, residents of Ranchi have to make do with the same old fare.

Cinemas in the capital are in a pitiable condition.

According to the Ranchi Cine Exhibitors Association, the condition of theatres cannot improve unless the existing tax structure is changed. The state charges 39 per cent tax on the seating capacity of a hall for each show.

Association secretary Dushyant Jaiswal said the association has put forth a proposal to the government to reduce the tax percentage and is awaiting a response. ?It is highly irrational to levy a tax of 39 per cent on the seating capacity of the hall. The hall is never full these days,? said Jaiswal.

He blamed the government for the condition of cinemas. ?In other states, the government allows a service charge on every ticket. The rate is Re 1 for a non air-conditioned hall, Rs 2 for an air-cooled hall and Rs 3 for an air-conditioned hall. We made a proposal to the government that we be allowed to charge the same amount but were told that we would be taxed even for that,? he said.

Officials from the department of commercial taxes said the proposal to reduce the tax is being considered. ?We do have a proposal to reduce the tax limit for cinemas and are going through it,? said secretary of the department of commercial taxes Alka Tiwari.

There are reports that a number of cinemas in the capital may close down in the near future. ?As far as I know, four of the six operating halls in the city are on the brink of closure. Ratan Cinema is a case in point. It?s been six years since it downed shutters and it has stayed that way,? said one cinema hall owner.

For those who are hoping that the capital would have its own multiplexes some day, the chances seem slim. ?As the owner of one of the most prominent cinema halls in the city, I do not have any plans to set up a multiplex here. Why should someone invest in a business where the prospect of earning profits is so dim?? said Jaiswal, who owns Sujata Cinema.

?The government should adopt policies that help bring up multiplexes. The governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat exempt such multiplexes from commercial taxes for an initial period of five years,? he added.