Three civic bodies collect 27% more property tax under special campaign

Civic bodies at Ahmedgarh, Amargarh and Malerkotla claimed to have collected 27 per cent higher property tax without interest and penalty in comparison to the previous year during a stipulated period.

The district has collected pending property tax totalling Rs 3.43 crore during a campaign launched from May 1 to August 15 for collecting arrears for financial years 2013-14 to 2024-25. The zero interest and no penalty facility has been extended up to August 31.

Malerkotla Additional Deputy Commissioner Sukhpreet Singh Sidhu appreciated that the authorities concerned at all three civic bodies of Ahmedgarh, Amargarh and Malerkotla had succeeded in achieving the desired targets by persuading owners who had not paid property tax for a long time by giving special facilities from May 1 to August 15. Sidhu said average increase in percentage of receipt of taxes in comparison to last year was approximately 27 per cent.

Perusal of records further revealed that Malerkotla MC had collected Rs 2.62 crore , Amargarh Nagar Panchayat Rs 14.74 lakh and Ahmedgarh Municipal Council Rs 66.22 during the campaign totaling Rs 3.43 crore. A total amount of Rs 2.70 crore was collected in the district during last year under the campaign.

The authorities concerned at these civic bodies said the performance could have been still better, had they been provided adequate staff at their respective offices.

Malerkotla MC Executive Officer Apar Singh claimed that senior functionaries in the department had appreciated the outstanding performance of the district in general and civic body in particular during a state-level meeting held recently. He said the collection could have been still higher, had there been adequate staff at their disposal.

“As we have no superintendent and inspector at our office, it is obvious to face issues related with calculation of arrears and persuasion of property owners,” said Singh, while maintaining that the staff position was almost similar at other civic bodies.