12 more notices to property tax defaulters in Karnal

Intensifying its property tax recovery drive, the Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC) has issued 12 more notices to tax defaulters, directing them to deposit their dues of around Rs 50 lakh. With these notices, the MC had so far issued over 500 notices to the defaulters since April 1, and had already sent second notices for attachment of properties to 135 property owners, warning them of strict action in case of non-payment.

As per the official data, Karnal has a total of 1.71 lakh properties, including 86,789 residential, 15,042 commercial, 1,259 industrial, 1,328 institutional, 50,610 vacant plots, 2,024 in the special category, 7,950 mixed-use, and 6,199 agricultural properties. Out of these, 65,019 have been self-certified under the civic self-assessment system. Officials said the target for the current fiscal year was Rs 27 crore, out of which Rs 18.10 crore had been collected so far. The MC had started its first recovery action on June 12. Till that date, the total tax collection was just Rs 2.5 crore. Following enforcement measures such as property sealing and attachment notices, around Rs 15.6 crore was more collected in just four months. Out of the 135 defaulters who received second notices, action has been initiated against around 50, and the majority of them have since paid their dues.“In the past four months, due to our strict steps, most defaulters came forward to clear their dues,” said Abhe Singh, Deputy Municipal Commissioner. “We are adopting a firm but fair approach. While we are giving defaulters adequate opportunity to pay, we will not hesitate to proceed with attachment or sealing if dues remain unpaid,” he said