PUNE: The civic body has recovered over Rs34 crore from property tax defaulters by roping in music bands over the past fortnight.
The bands play loud music in front of the properties of defaulters in an effort to shame them into settling their dues. Most of these properties are commercial, an official said. The defaulters have not paid taxes over a period of one year to 10 years.
“Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) sent recovery notices to these defaulters. But the owners did not pay their dues and so, were targeted in this special drive,” said Madhav Jagtap, head of PMC’s property tax department.
PMC had set a revenue target of Rs2,600 crore from property tax for the 2024-25 financial year. It has earned around Rs 1,600 crore in the first two quarters of the fiscal. Owners of 13.5 lakh properties are liable to pay the tax.
“The civic administration should make sure it focusses on big defaulters, and bands should play in front of such establishments. PMC should also take efforts to encourage diligent taxpayers,” said Vivek Velankar of Sajag Nagrik Manch. He added that PMC must take stringent action against repeated tax defaulters, and ensure amnesty schemes are not provided for habitual offenders.
PMC officials said a number of strict actions are taken against defaulters. The auction is the last option explored for tax recovery. But before it, other options are explored, including the issuance of notices and sealing the property for a temporary period. But if the payment is not made even then, PMC takes the property into its possession.
PMC puts its name on the 7/12 abstracts. After attachment, PMC auctions the property with an online bidding process.
Officials from the property tax department accompany these bands to collect the payments. PMC spends between Rs15 lakh to Rs20 lakh a year on these bands.
Source Homevior.in
