Despite the introduction of the amnesty scheme, a large section of property tax defaulters in the twin-city have failed to pay up taxes owed to the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC), even after repeated reminders and notices.
Stung by the cold shoulder response, the civic administration has finally decided to act tough against the defaulters. The tax department has prepared a list of 350 major defaulters who collectively owe a whopping Rs. 9 crore.
According to the officials, electronic bids for 30 out of the 350 listed properties will be floated on the e-auction platform linked to MBMC’s official website (www.mbmc.gov.in), in the first phase of the e-auction process.
While the auction is scheduled to be held at the end of this month, May end, a final chance will be given to the defaulters to pay up and save their properties from going under auction. Notably, similar attempts by MBMC to auction confiscated properties had fallen flat as bidders did not show any interest in buying them.
“If the problem of cold shoulder response from bidders arises again, we have already got a plan B in place. The properties will be acquired at the namesake rate of 1 rupee after a formal nod from the standing committee. Once we get the possession of the properties, they will be either used for our offices or staff quarters. This as per their location and the corresponding need to accommodate people-friendly services.” confirmed a tax officer.
As against the target of Rs. 222 crore, the MBMC had managed to mop-up Rs. 151 crore until March 31 this year. There are more than 2.69 lakh residential and 60,886 commercial taxpayers in the twin city.
It has been alleged that the auction process is a mere eye-wash by the civic administration as most of the listed properties are either abandoned or in semi-demolished condition.
“There are rarely any properties in the list which have any worth to be auctioned. Like all these years, big defaulters, mostly builders, lawn owners and hoteliers owning creamy properties are rarely taken to task.” revealed an MBMC staffer seeking anonymity.
