The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has indicated that strict action will be taken against property tax defaulters in the coming financial year, as arrears from property tax, one of the civic body’s primary revenue sources have increased significantly. Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram has said that a special recovery drive will be launched to collect pending dues from citizens, and a separate policy will be formulated for the process.
While the civic body’s other revenue sources are declining, the outstanding property tax dues have surged to nearly ₹17,000 crore. In the past few years, the administration has introduced several amnesty schemes to provide relief to defaulters. However, despite these schemes, many property owners have continued to delay tax payments, leading to a steady rise in pending dues.
The Commissioner stated that property tax remains the most important source of income for the municipal corporation, yet the expected revenue is not being generated from this department. A large number of properties in the city are still outside the tax net, while in some cases, discrepancies have been found in the tax assessment process, further contributing to the rise in arrears.
To address the issue, the civic administration plans to conduct a year-long special recovery campaign. Various incentives were offered earlier to encourage citizens to clear their dues, and nearly ₹1,000 crore was collected in the last two months through these measures. However, the administration said the revenue growth is still below expectations.
Against this backdrop, the PMC is now preparing to take strict action against persistent defaulters. The civic body is working on a separate policy that may include penalties and other enforcement measures against properties where taxes remain unpaid.
