TMC: No salary in April if tax collection targets are not met

After the election season is over, it is time for Thane municipal corporation (TMC) budget and a review of targets to be met by officials. TMC Commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal has warned officials that if they fail to meet their revenue collection targets for the financial year 2016-17, they may not receive their salaries in April. The tired TMC officials who are recuperating after a hectic election duty of 1.5 months, now have to pull up their socks to meet their annual tax collection targets. The civic officials who got a week’s respite post February 23 election results now have to gear up for a gruelling revenue collection drive or face the consequences.

In a meeting held with senior TMC officials on Monday, Jaiswal took a review of water and property tax collections done by the civic body till date. “TMC commissioner made it amply clear that if the officials are not able to meet the property and water dues collection in their areas in the next one month, then they will have to face stringent action. He specified that even their salaries will be stopped if need be, ” says Sandip Malvi, Public relations officer, TMC.

The property tax collection target for TMC for the year 2016-17 is Rs 456 crore out of which Rs 295 crore have already been collected. For water tax, it is Rs 150 crore out of which Rs 62.5 crore have been met in the last three quarters. Like most civic corporations in the state, TMC had benefited immensely in terms of tax collection during the demonetization drive of November 2016.