Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Civic Body Orders Fresh Property Evaluation Drive

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) has decided to re-evaluate all properties in the city following complaints of discrepancies in property assessment, double registrations and unregistered properties.

The decision was approved during a five-hour standing committee meeting held on Monday, where detailed discussions took place on property tax recovery and related issues.

Officials said property taxes were first imposed on around 67,000 properties in 1988-89, with taxes ranging between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500 per property. Since then, many properties have undergone changes, but the records were not updated properly. The administration also found that nearly 27,000 properties are registered twice in municipal records.

The meeting was chaired by standing committee chairman Anil Makariye. Several corporators, including Rajgaurav Wankhede, Surendra Kulkarni, Amit Bhuigad, Matin Khan, Madhuri Adwant, Azhar Pathan and Kamal Narote, criticised the administration over poor property tax recovery.

Some corporators suggested strict action against tax defaulters and even proposed public announcements outside the homes of those who failed to pay taxes. They also alleged that some municipal employees demanded large amounts of money during property evaluations.

The corporators further claimed that several educational institutions have huge pending property tax dues, but recovery action has not been taken against them.

After the discussions, Deputy Commissioner Vikas Nawale said there is only one officer in each zone to handle property evaluations. Despite limited staff, the corporation managed to bring 1,620 new properties under the tax system within a month, he said.

The civic administration believes the fresh evaluation drive will help correct errors in records and improve property tax collection across the city.