Reeling under cash crunch, Panipat MC to pace up property tax recovery

Mukesh Tandon

Panipat, September 26

Reeling under financial crunch, the Municipal Corporation (MC), Panipat, has decided to pace up the recovery of the property tax, fire tax and the solid waste management (SWM) tax. Around Rs 400 crore tax is pending. Now, the MC has identified 100 top defaulters in the city, who owe Rs 181 crore property tax to the MC and has begun serving notices on them.

So far, Rs 2.91 crore property tax has been collected by the MC against the proposed demand of Rs 25 crore in the financial year 2022-23. Besides, Rs 236 crore arrears of property tax and Rs 135 crore arrears of SWM tax is pending.

As many as 1.45 lakh (units) properties are registered in the MC records, of which 45,883 are residential, 12,112 commercial, 3,785 industrial units, 1,245 institutional units, 31,451 vacate plots, 48,095 mix-use plots and 1,508 special-category units.

Meanwhile, a firm, Yashi Company, has conducted a new property survey. As per the new survey report, there are 1.73 lakh units in Panipat of which 90,756 are residential, 15,430 commercial, 7,115 industrial, 35,432 vacant plots, 20,292 mix-use plots, 493 towers and 829 institutional.

As per sources, the MC had set the target of recovering Rs 25 crore property tax in the current fiscal year, but it has only been able to collect Rs 2.91 crore so far.

The sources said the MC had collected a total Rs 15.45 crore so far, of which Rs 2.91 crore is property tax, Rs 53 lakh rent, Rs 1.44 crore trade license fee, Rs 2.45 crore solid waste management (SWM) tax and Rs 6.52 crore development charge.

The sources further stated that a total of Rs 236.59 crore property tax was pending for the past many year in the MC records and it gradually rose every year. The total demand of the SWM tax in the current fiscal year is 13.68 crore, but Rs 136.86 crore SWM tax was pending in the MC record since 2011. Besides, Rs two crore demand is of fire tax for the current financial year and the arrears of Rs 15.99 crore is pending.

The state government notified the SWM tax in 2011, but the MCs started collecting this tax from July 2021, an official said on the condition of anonymity. Now, the MC is reeling under financial crunch and approximately Rs 100 crore was the liability on the MC, the sources said.

Even the issue of poor financial condition of the MC was discussed in the General House meeting held recently and it passed an agenda item to improve the financial health of the MC by collecting property tax and other taxes.

Samaypal Singh, Zonal Taxation Officer (ZTO), MC, said notices of top 100 defaulters had been prepared and were being served on them.

Shyam Lal Poonia, Commissioner, MC, said all officials had been pulled up and told to pace up the recovery process so that the financial condition of the corporation improved. Notices are being been served on the top 100 defaulters. Over 3,700 units identified in the city owe 85 per cent of the taxes, the Commissioner said. Special teams of junior engineers had been constituted to verify these properties, the Commissioner said.

Notices being served on defaulters

All officials had been pulled up and told to pace up the recovery process so that the financial condition of the corporation improves. Notices are being served on the top 100 defaulters . — Shyam Lal Poonia, Commissioner, MC