PUNE: PMC has earned around Rs 1,600 crore from property tax in the first two quarters of the current financial year.
The civic administration needs to meet a target of Rs 2,400 crore by March 2025, a Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) official said. However, meeting the target appears to be a tough task for PMC due to issues like restrictions on recovery of tax in 34 merged areas.
Owners of around 9.16 lakh properties have paid tax. But nearly 5.05 lakh owners are yet to make the payment. Out of the total payment, Rs 990 crore has been collected online, while around Rs 610 crore has been collected via offline mode. This includes cheques and cash.
Citizens in merged areas have opposed increase in property tax in their areas. They claimed that the civic administration has not been providing facilities to the merged areas. Basic facilities like good quality roads, water, and sewage treatment are not available. A PMC official said that the civic body is yet to recover Rs 1,245 crore tax from the 34 merged areas.
The civic administration had organised a drive to seal properties of defaulters. But it was stopped after local leaders and residents complained about the heavy charges in March 2024 before the Lok Sabha elections.
“The administration should make sure that property tax is not more than what is charged by grampanchayat. The authorities and elected members had promised relief to citizens in merged areas, but no action has been taken by the authorities,” said Shrirang Chavan, a citizen of one of the merged villages, said.
PMC had collected around Rs 2,400 crore from building permissions, while it generated around Rs 2,280 crore from property tax in 2023-24.
“The civic administration has taken a number of steps to recover property tax. PMC has launched special drive for tax collection. Actions like confiscation of properties and auction have been conducted,” said Madhav Jagtap, head of PMC’s property tax department.
