Property Tax: Panchkula MC collects Rs 13.4 crore, falls short of Rs 25-crore target

Panchkula, December 19

The Panchkula Municipal Corporation has managed to collect merely 56% of the total target (Rs 25 crore) of property tax this fiscal year and has not initiated action against the defaulters, even though repeated notices were issued to them.

Civic body yet to get cracking

The MC has failed to initiate any action against government or private tax defaulters. Some of the property tax defaulters who have been issued notices were issued similar letters last year as well. Insider, Municipal Corporation

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So far, the corporation has only managed to collect Rs 13.4 crore from all across the city in nearly nine months. The city has over 1 lakh total units, including 63,000 residential units and the ones (commercial, educational and others) under its ambit.

The civic body on Friday announced the sealing of government buildings, including the Horticulture Office (Sector 21), Golf Club (Sector 3) and the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex (Sector 3), among other private property tax defaulters.

An MC official had earlier said, “These are major defaulters of property tax who are yet to cough up property tax. The MC has issued notices to them numerous times. But they have failed to deposit the long-pending sums. We will begin sealing their properties on Monday.” But the civic body is yet to get cracking.

A civic body insider rued, “The MC has failed to initiate any action against government or private tax defaulters. Some of the property tax defaulters who have been issued notices were issued similar letters last year as well.”

Municipal Zonal Taxation Officer Akash Kapoor said a sealing drive will begin this week. He said, “The lists have been prepared and put up for approval. The file for the same has been moved. Two years ago too, the property of a tax defaulter was sealed.”

He said the MC had collected a total of Rs 13.4 crore as property tax arrears and payments for the ongoing fiscal year since April. It is, however, still way off the yearly target of Rs 25 crore.

MC Commissioner Sachin Gupta said the property tax defaulters have sought a few days to submit the pending arrears. “We will initiate action by the end of this week in case they fail to pay up,” he warned.