I-T dept felicitates 4 women centenarians in MP, Chhattisgarh for regular tax payments

Four centenarians, all women, including a 117-year-old were felicitated by Income Tax department in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for paying income tax regularly, the office of principal chief commissioner, Income Tax (MP-CG) at Bhopal said.

According to officials, Girija Bai Tiwari (117), a resident of Bina town in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh may be the oldest taxpayer in the country at present.

The felicitation ceremonies on Monday at the residences of these taxpayers were part of programmes to mark the 160th Income Tax Foundation Day that fell on Sunday.

The three other centenarian taxpayers are Ishwaribai Lulla (103) and Kanchan Bai (100), residents of Indore in Madhya Pradesh and Beena Rakshit (100), a resident of Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, said a statement by principal chief commissioner, Income Tax (MP-CG) AK Chauhan.

“As a part of income tax foundation day celebration various programmes were conducted on July 27 which includes felicitation of centenarian taxpayers, opening of two new Aayakar Sewa Kendra (ASK) at Morena and Balaghat, felicitation of top performers of the year in various fields within the department etc,” Chauhan said.

Girija Bai Tiwari’s date of birth on her PAN (permanent account number) card is written as April 15, 1903. She is the widow of a freedom fighter late Siddhanth Tiwari and she gets a pension from the state government.

“My great grandmother never missed paying income tax for several decades. She is an example for us that we must pay our taxes honestly and regularly. There are people who avoid paying taxes. They should draw inspiration from my great grandmother,” Girija Bai Tiwari’s great grand-daughter Anjali Tiwari told reporters at Bina on Tuesday

She said, “Our wish is that her name gets an entry in the Guinness Book of Worlds Records for being the oldest taxpayer in the world.”