MC may offer one-time settlement scheme to property tax defaulters

The Municipal Corporation (MC) is considering to launch one-time settlement scheme for property tax defaulters.

Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla said she had discussed the matter with officials and asked them to table an agenda in the next MC General House meeting. She said she had come up with the proposal to ease financial burden on citizens. The Mayor said under the scheme, penalty and interest on the pending tax might be waived.

She said if the House approved the proposal and the UT Administration also gave its nod, the scheme would benefit numerous property owners, who were unable to pay their dues on time. She said this would also help the MC recover tax, while giving resident a chance to settle their liabilities.

RK Garg, president of Second Innings Association, said he had already submitted a representation for one-time settlement of property tax to help the MC tide over its financial crunch. He said property tax amounting to Rs 200 crore was pending against many institutional, residential and commercial property owners. The MC was facing shortage of funds for almost a year and failed to recover property tax dues as it did not have legal backing and strength for recovery.

Garg said the Punjab Government had launched a similar scheme in May this year and earned huge revenue.

The Municipal Corporation had made the record collection of property tax of over Rs 80 crores in the past three months. The civic body also issued notices to the defaulters for recovery of pending tax. Besides Panjab University, the PGI and Punjab Engineering College, many government departments owe the MC crores in property tax.

Sources said over Rs 100 crore amount of tax was under litigation or disputed. In this scheme, all such defaulters would be given a chance to clear their dues.