NEW DELHI: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has announced a house-tax waiver scheme, allowing residents to clear their house-tax dues of 2024-25 and have all previous pending taxes written off.
The announcement was made at a press conference here on Monday by MCD Mayor Mahesh Khichi, Deputy Mayor Ravinder Bhardwaj, Leader of the House Mukesh Goel and senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh.
The AAP-led civic body’s proposal, which aims at easing financial burdens on citizens and curbing corruption in tax collection, is set to be passed in the MCD House on Tuesday.
Under the scheme, properties measuring up to 100 square yards, including residential shops, will be completely exempt from house tax from the next financial year. Houses measuring between 100 and 500 square yards will receive a 50-per cent waiver, while 1,300 housing societies that previously did not qualify for any exemption will now get a 25-per cent rebate.
By January 2025, an amount of Rs 1,908.06 crore in property-tax revenue was collected out of the Rs 4,300-crore target for Financial Year 2024-25, while by December 2024, the corporation had received Rs 2,653 crore in property-transfer duty.
Speaking at the press conference, Khichi said the AAP has always delivered on its promises and the latest decision is a major step towards easing financial burdens on homeowners.
He said the MCD is also going ahead with plans to regularise 12,000 contractual employees, in addition to the 8,000 workers who have already been made permanent in the last two years.
He emphasised that the tax-waiver scheme would not only provide relief to homeowners but also bring transparency in tax collection, reducing avenues for corruption.
Singh said the AAP has consistently worked for the welfare of the common man and this decision is a step towards fulfilling that commitment.
He also highlighted that for the first time, 1,300 housing apartments in Delhi, which had never received any tax benefit, will get a 25-per cent rebate. Calling it a historic decision by the AAP-led MCD, Singh said the proposal would bring relief to thousands of families that have been burdened with high house taxes for years.
The AAP’s MCD in-charge, Durgesh Pathak, said the move would put an end to corruption in tax collection as many homeowners were harassed by officials over unpaid dues.
He pointed out that under previous administrations, house tax was often used as a tool to extract bribes, leading to losses in the MCD’s revenue.
Pathak also noted that before his party took charge of the civic body, MCD employees had not received salaries on time for years, but with improved financial management under the previous AAP government in Delhi, timely salary payments were ensured.
