PUNE: The move to halt recovery of property tax dues in merged areas has somewhat lowered the civic body’s revenue from this source for the 2023-24 financial year, with the building permissions department clocking higher earnings in this period — a rare instance for the corporation.
Property tax is usually the largest source of revenue for Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). Around Rs2,268 crore was earned from it in the latest fiscal, states official data.
Interestingly, the building permissions department earned over Rs2,300 crore in the same duration.
Civic officials pointed out that the administration stopped recovery of property tax dues from merged areas in Feb after directives from state govt. They said this adversely impacted total revenue generation, claiming that they could have earned at least Rs200 crore more from property tax.
However, PMC property tax department head Madhav Jagtap also said, “The revenue generation in this financial year for us is better compared to last year. The administration earned significant property tax income on the last day of the financial year as well.”
Total property tax collection for the 2022-23 financial year was Rs1,965 crore, which went up by at least Rs300 crore this time round.
Officials said Rs1,245 crore of property tax is yet to be recovered from the 34 merged areas. The civic administration had even organized a drive to seal properties of defaulters in these locations, but this action was halted after local leaders and residents complained about the heavy charges.
Meanwhile, the Rs2,300 crore generated from building permissions and premium charges is the highest in the history of the department.
Its officials also said redevelopment of properties is driving an increase in revenue for the corporation. PMC approved 1,709 building permissions in 2023-24, compared to 956 in the 2022-23 financial year. The municipality earned Rs1,636 crore from these permissions in the last fiscal.
“Better infrastructure preparedness and growth opportunities are attracting more property buyers to Pune. The administration is creating facilities, which supplements real estate development,” said Prashant Waghmare, city engineer of PMC.
