BMC cracks the whip on property tax defaulters

With about a month left for the end of the financial year, the BMC has begun taking stringent steps to recover property tax dues. On Wednesday, the corporation took action on commercial units of Sonal building in the MIDC area of Andheri East and seized articles like computers, television sets etc. for not paying the pending property tax of Rs 16,25,421. The civic body has set a target of recovering

Rs 2,400 crore as arrears during the month. For this, the corporation is ready to take action against their officers who fail to achieve the target of recovering property tax dues.

After the abolition of Octroi, BMC heavily relies on property tax. However, many businessmen, factory owners, and builders do not pay their property taxes on time. BMC is yet to recover Rs 2,400 crore towards property tax, and the outstanding balance is to be recovered by March 31, the end of the financial year. The corporation has started shutting down water supply of those who have not paid their dues yet and has also begun seizure of valuables.

“For the year 2019-20, a target of Rs 5480 crore was set by the BMC. Out of this Rs 3154 crore has been recovered so far,” said Ramesh Pawar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Improvement). For the outstanding dues of Rs 2,400 crore, each ward office has been given a target of Rs 60 crore to recover per day. Earlier, the target amount was Rs 10 crore, but since BMC has started taking action on defaulters the target amount has risen to Rs2535 crore daily. As the deadline for the recovery is getting nearer, the ward offices have been given a revised target of Rs 50-60 cr per day.

“Departmental officers who fulfil their target within the stipulated time will be honoured, but strict action will be taken against the officers who fail to perform well in the given task,” said Pawar.