GURUGRAM: MCG generated an income of Rs 250 crore from property tax in 2023-24, just 50% of its Rs 500 crore target. Officials, however, said there was an increase of 30% in the revenue collected compared to 2022-23, when it had earned Rs 186 crore from property tax.
MCG has set the estimated income from this head at Rs 250 crore for 2024-25. Officials said collecting property tax, one of the major sources of revenue for the corporation, is a challenge due to discrepancies in property tax data. Many residents had filed objections to rectify their property tax data online, due to which tax collection was hindered, they said.
“Residential, institutional, commercial and industrial properties in the city have to pay property tax as per the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994. An interest of 18% is levied every year if the property tax dues are not paid every fiscal year by March 31. Properties of defaulters will be sealed and auctioned,” MCG commissioner Narhari Singh Banger said.
A survey by a private agency in Jan 2022 had found that 5.1 lakh properties fall under the MCG’s ambit.
After the survey was completed, residents had complained that the new property IDs generated had incorrect details, creating a faulty database.
They claimed that they have been getting inflated property tax bills as most of them have the incorrect plot size mentioned on the bills. MCG is gradually rectifying the data based on residents’ complaints and checks by officials.
Residents can self-certify their property tax data and raise objections on the no-dues certificate (NDC) portal of the state urban local bodies (ULB) department.
The civic body is also organising special camps for self-certification of property tax data by collaborating with RWAs, market associations and citizens’ groups.
The portal, however, is currently under maintenance and won’t be functional till April 2. Officials said that the residents can use the portal after April 2.
TOI had reported on March 22 that over 4,800 property tax defaulters in the city were yet to pay dues of Rs 1 lakh or more. These defaulters altogether owe the corporation Rs 160 crore in property tax dues. The civic body had set a March 31 deadline for payment.
Now, it will start sealing these properties and disconnect water and sewer connections, officials said.
There are a total of 6.6 lakh properties under the MCG’s ambit. Since Jan 2023, the civic body has received 1.7 lakh objections to rectify the property tax data. A total of 1.5 lakh objections have been approved or resolved, 19,809 rejected and 1,728 are pending.
For residential properties with a plot size of up to 300 square yards, the property tax rate is Re 1 per sq yard. For plots measuring 301 sq yards to 500 sq yards, the rate is Rs 4 per sq yard, while it is Rs 6 per sq yard for plots of 501 sq yards to 1,000 sq yards. Owners have to pay Rs 7 per sq yard for plots with a size of 1,001 sq yards to two acres, and Rs 10 per sq yard for plots that are spread over more than two acres.
