₹72 lakh tax pending from 40 resorts:Properties, including MP Tourism units, accused of avoiding dues for 7 years

A confrontation has emerged between the district panchayat administration and luxury resort operators over pending taxes in Madhya Pradesh’s popular tourist destinations of Madhai and Reni Pani in Narmadapuram district. Located along forests and the Denwa River, these areas are home to nearly 40 luxury resorts and homestays with annual businesses worth crores of rupees. However, many operators have allegedly failed to pay panchayat taxes for years. Several resort owners have reportedly not paid taxes for the last seven years. Surprisingly, the defaulters’ list also includes government-run MP Tourism properties along with private resorts. Read the report… Only ₹4 lakh recovered against ₹72 lakh dues The district panchayat has identified around 40 resorts and homestays operating under Tekapar (Madhai) and Magariya (Reni Pani) gram panchayats in Sohagpur block. According to officials, these establishments collectively owe nearly ₹72 lakh in panchayat taxes. Acting on instructions from District Panchayat CEO Himanshu Jain, panchayat secretaries issued notices asking operators to clear pending dues. Meetings were also conducted with resort owners, but only ₹4.34 lakh has been recovered so far. The CEO warned that strict action would be taken against operators failing to deposit taxes.
Resort owners say Panchayat provides no facilities Resort operators, however, have accused the panchayat of failing to provide basic civic facilities. They claim there is no waste disposal mechanism, no regular road cleaning and no proper street lighting arrangement in the area. According to operators, they spend around ₹35,000 to ₹40,000 annually on private garbage disposal arrangements alone. Their argument is that if basic facilities are not being provided, there is little justification for imposing heavy taxes. Several properties yet to undergo tax assessment Tax assessment is still pending for several establishments, including: Highest pending dues on Reni Pani jungle lodge A ground investigation revealed that Reni Pani Jungle Lodge under Magariya Gram Panchayat has the highest pending tax amount of ₹15.22 lakh. Other major dues include: Highest outstanding on Reni Pani Jungle Lodge Dainik Bhaskar’s investigation revealed that Rainy Pani Jungle Lodge of Gram Panchayat Magariya has the highest outstanding tax of ₹15 lakh 22 thousand 312. Additionally, there is an outstanding tax of ₹11 lakh 89 thousand 842 on Denwa Backwater Scrap and ₹6 lakh 89 thousand 946 on Manish Kalani Indore Farmhouse. The lowest outstanding amount is ₹8,790 on Hotel Satpura Valley. The total outstanding tax for Tekapar and Reni water panchayats is 72 lakh 20 thousand 756 rupees. MP Tourism Property Also Among Defaulters Apart from private resorts, even a government-run tourism property figures in the defaulters’ list. MP Tourism’s Bison Lodge located in Madhai reportedly has pending panchayat tax dues of nearly ₹4.99 lakh. According to officials, the tax has not been deposited between 2020 and 2026. However, MP Tourism Regional Manager AU Khan said no such panchayat tax applies to MP Tourism hotels and resorts. Forsyth lodge clears pending tax Forsyth Lodge, which had recently come under scrutiny in a wildlife body parts recovery case, was also listed among tax defaulters. However, the resort management reportedly deposited ₹2.35 lakh into the panchayat account last month. Administration warns of action against defaulters District Panchayat CEO Himanshu Jain said action would be taken against resort and homestay operators who have failed to pay taxes in Magariya and Tekapar panchayat areas. He said the administration is taking the issue seriously due to the large amount of pending revenue. Resort operators demand fresh tax assessment Operators of Denwa Backwater and Dream View Resort have reportedly responded to panchayat notices claiming that tax calculations were incorrect. They argued that taxes should be reassessed based on actual land area, construction cost and operational timeline. According to the operators, Dream View Resort land was purchased in June 2018, construction started in 2019 and the resort became operational only in 2021. Despite this, the panchayat allegedly added tax liabilities for 2018 and 2019 as well, whereas taxes should have been applicable only from 2022 onward. The operators said they have already deposited a cheque of ₹44,000 and demanded that the panchayat recalculate taxes based on actual construction and operational details. Resorts located in eco-sensitive zone Most resorts built in the Sarangpur-Madhai region under Tekapar Gram Panchayat fall within the Bagda buffer zone of the Satpura Tiger Reserve. The Denwa River backwater region is connected to both buffer and core forest zones and falls under the eco-sensitive zone category. Because of this, new commercial construction activities are restricted in the area. Resort owners are not allowed to carry out new construction freely, and even lighting installations are regulated under environmental norms.