Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) is under pressure as revenue collection continues to fall short of expectations this financial year as its staff is engaged in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral roll in the city.
Against a revised annual target of Rs 700 crore, the corporation has managed to collect only Rs 400 crore in the first eight months. This leaves a massive Rs 300 crore to be recovered in the remaining four months - an uphill task for the revenue department.
BMC officials attribute the slowdown primarily to the ongoing SIR work, which will continue till December 4. The ongoing SIR is keeping revenue teams occupied and they are not able to distribute bills towards property tax, and this has significantly affected the revenue collection. The department expects improvement only after staffers are freed from SIR duties.
Currently, ward offices are collecting only Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per day towards property tax, with some wards recording negligible amounts for days. This slow pace has left revenue officers struggling to figure out how to bridge the massive Rs 300 crore gap in just four months.
The corporation aims to recover around Rs 25 crore in the Lok Adalat scheduled on December 13. However, officials admit that even collecting Rs 20 crore may be difficult due to delays in bill distribution.
Last Year’s struggle continues
BMC has set a target of Rs 410 crore from property tax and Rs 125 crore from water tax for the current financial year. However, last year too, the corporation failed to meet its goals—collecting only Rs 258 crore against a target of Rs 300 crore despite extensive efforts. The repeated shortfall has raised concerns over the corporation’s financial planning and execution.
Surcharge from January for defaulters
In an attempt to push recovery, BMC will impose an additional surcharge on taxpayers who owe more than Rs 20,000. Starting January 1, a 3% surcharge will apply, followed by 6% in February, 9% in March and a steep 15% from April onwards.
Mohit Nagar, Assistant revenue officer, BMC, said, “Revenue collection has been affected due to SIR work, but once staff are relieved, we will speed up the process. A plan is in place, and we aim to achieve the target.
