LUDHIANA: With an aim to generate maximum revenue from property tax, the Ludhiana civic body has once again started a drive to recover pending dues from government departments, which have not paid taxes for last several years.
Officials of the municipal corporation (MC) are trying to convince them to clear their dues as there is a chance that no interest and penalty would be levied and they must avail the opportunity.
The MC team from headquarters has also issued letters to the zones concerned to check departments which have not paid the property tax and send notices to them for recovery.
The officials claimed that they have approached the police department as well to recover the tax for the office of commissioner, police stations and other properties. One of the officials claimed that as per conservative estimates, the property tax to be collected from the police department is about Rs 15 crore.
The MC had issued notices to the police department last year as well and received Rs 1.5 crore in payment. The police department had assured to clear the remaining dues shortly.
The official quoted above reiterated the MC’s efforts to offer one-time settlement opportunity to the defaulting government departments.
The civic body has already recovered more than Rs 105 crore as property tax dues this financial year. The officials are trying to meet this fiscal year’s target of Rs 130 crore by December-end.
Last year, against the target of Rs 100 crore, the MC had recovered Rs 122 crore.
Municipal commissioner Sandeep Rishi said, “Recovery of dues from every property tax payer is a must and government departments, which are supposed to pay tax, should come forward and clear their outstanding amount.”
Notably, the civic body had for the past a few years been serving notices to DC office in the mini-secretariat, court complex, police commissioner’s office and police stations, Ludhiana Improvement Trust, Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority, PWD (B&R) office, civil surgeon’s office, some government schools, circuit house, PAU, GADVASU, and sewerage board offices among others.
From some of the departments, it was able to collect tax in partial payments, while many others have yet to come out to clear dues.
