Cash-strapped Shimla civic body struggles to recover property rent
Shimla, November 30
The Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) is facing a financial crunch but it has not been able to recover outstanding rent dues of its properties in the city leased to others for many years.
Notices served on 700 defaulters
The outstanding rent dues of leased properties in the city stood at Rs 11 crore till a month ago and after the SMC served notices on more than 700 major defaulters, it managed to recover a sizeable amount. A senior official, SMC
The outstanding rent of properties in different parts of Shimla city runs into crores of rupees but defaulters have not made payments till now though the SMC has served several notices on them.
Sources say that on the one hand, senior SMC officials claim that they have taken measures to generate revenue for the cash-starved municipal corporation, on the other, it has not been able to recover dues outstanding for a long period. Even agreements with the defaulters have not been renwed for decades.
The SMC has been losing potential revenue, as the civic body has not revised the rent of its properties for years. The SMC has issued the final notice to the defaulters. “The outstanding rent dues of leased properties in the city stood at Rs 11 crore till a month ago and after the SMC served notices on more than 700 major defaulters, it managed to recover a sizeable amount. Appropriate action will be initiated against those who don’t clear their pending dues,” says a senior SMC official.
He says, “Besides expediting the recovery of outstanding dues, efforts are being made to find SMC land lying unused in the city so that it can be utilised to generate revenue.” Defaulters are occupying 1,100 SMC properties in the city. The SMC has served several notices on the defaulters, but to no avail. But the final notices has yielded positive results, claim officials.
Besides, those who have not cleared outstanding bills of property tax and garbage fee may lose basic public services such as water and electricity supply, they add.
