Shocked by cash shortage, Panipat MC to speed up property tax recovery: The Tribune India

Tribune press service

Mukesh Tandon

Panipat, September 26

In the grip of financial difficulties, the Municipal Corporation (MC), Panipat, has decided to accelerate the collection of property tax, fire tax and solid waste management tax (SWM). A tax of around Rs 400 crore is pending. Now the MC has identified the top 100 defaulters in the city, who owe Rs 181 crore in property tax to the MC and has started serving notices on them.

So far, property tax of Rs 2.91 crore has been collected by the MC against the proposed claim of Rs 25 crore in the financial year 2022-23. In addition, land tax arrears of Rs 236 crore and SWM tax arrears of Rs 135 crore are pending.

No less than 1.45 lakh (units) of properties are registered in the MC registers, of which 45,883 are residential, 12,112 commercial, 3,785 industrial units, 1,245 institutional units, 31,451 vacant plots, 48,095 plots for sale. mixed use and 1,508 special category units.

Meanwhile, a company, Yashi Company, conducted a new real estate survey. According to 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 mixed-use plots, 493 towers and 829 institutional.

According to the sources, the MC had set a target to recover property tax of Rs 25 crore in the current financial year but it has only been able to collect Rs 2.91 crore so far.

The sources said the MC has collected a total of Rs 15.45 crore so far, including Rs 2.91 crore land tax, Rs 53 lakh rent, Rs 1.44 crore business license fee, Rs 2.45 crore Solid Waste Management (SWM) levy and Rs 6.52 crore. responsible for development.

The sources further said that a total of Rs 236.59 crore in property tax has been pending for several years in MC’s records and is gradually increasing every year. The total claim for the SWM tax in the current financial year is Rs 13.68 crore, but the SWM tax of Rs 136.86 crore was pending in the MC case since 2011. Further, the claim for Rs two crore is a 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 MCs started collecting the tax from July 2021, an official said on condition of anonymity. Now, the MC is reeling from the financial crisis and around Rs 100 crore was the responsibility of the MC, the sources said.

Even the issue of the MC’s poor financial situation was discussed at the General House meeting held recently and it adopted an agenda item to improve the financial health of the MC by collecting the property tax and other taxes.

Samaypal Singh, Zone Tax Officer (ZTO), MC, said notices of the top 100 defaulters had been prepared and served on them.

Shyam Lal Poonia, Commissioner, MC, said all those responsible have been arrested and asked to speed up the turnaround process so that the company’s financial situation improves. Notices were served on the top 100 defaulters. More than 3,700 identified units in the city owe 85% of taxes, the commissioner said. Special teams of junior engineers have been formed to verify these properties, the commissioner said.

Notices are served on defaulters

All those responsible had been arrested and asked to speed up the recovery process so that the company’s financial situation would improve. Notices are served on the top 100 defaulters. — Shyam Lal Poonia, curator, MC