Mira Bhayandar: The Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) now faces a daunting task of augmenting its receipts towards property tax revenue by at least 25 percent to remain eligible for grants provided by the central government for various projects and initiatives under the aegis of the fifteenth finance commission.
Based on the instructions given by the Ministry of Finance (MoF), the Navi Mumbai-based Directorate of Municipal Administration in its letter dated 27, December 2022, has directed all urban local bodies (ULB) across the state including the MBMC to augment property tax revenue by 25 to 30 percent in the current fiscal as compared to revenue generated last year. As per information sourced out from the tax department, the target was set at Rs 190 crore for the financial year 2021-22.
However, the MBMC managed to mop just Rs 161 crore. However, with the latest directions, the MBMC is mandated to recover at least Rs 200 crore to keep itself qualified for grants under the fifteenth finance commission.
“ Not only augmenting property tax collections, but we are tapping other sources of revenue generation in various fields, mainly advertising and land rent. Necessary instructions have been given to all departments,” said municipal commissioner- Dilip Dhole.
Notably, the MBMC has so far managed to recover only Rs 120 crore and a daunting task lies ahead in recovering a whopping Rs 80 crore of outstanding amount with just a three-month period left for end of the financial year on 31, March-2023.
The assessed number of properties in the twin-city is currently pegged at around 3,68,501 including 63,498 commercial and 3,05,003 residential units. Apart from imposing conditions on the ULB’s for timely publishing of annual accounts and service-level benchmarks, the commission has emphasised expediting improvements in property tax.
