They used every trick in the book in the last 10 years to recover property tax dues from various agencies and departments of state and central governments.
They used every trick in the book in the last 10 years to recover property tax dues from various agencies and departments of state and central governments. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials first asked politely, and then threatened to snap water supply, but nothing worked. They were able to recover only 8.5% of the pending property taxes.
Mayor Shraddha Jadhav had recently urged chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to direct government departments to pay their dues, but the coffers haven’t started filling as yet. The dues against property tax from state and central governments, the railways and the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) run up to Rs182 crore, but the BMC received just Rs15.62 crore this year.
Topping the list of defaulters, compiled by the BMC’s assessor and collector department, is the central government, with a lion’s share of Rs11.42 crore. Its dues were higher but it recently paid Rs13.93 crore. Next in line is the MbPT, with dues of Rs30.89 crore. The state government owes the BMC Rs8 crore, after payment of Rs16.08 crore.
The central and western railways have to pay Rs4.89 crore and Rs4.16 crore, respectively. Each year, they add to their dues against property tax with an increase of Rs33.25 lakh and Rs27 lakh, respectively.
These agencies have been pinching pennies on water tax as well. Their dues on it ran up to Rs70.51 crore — the centre’s share being Rs12.22 crore, the state’s Rs3.70 crore, and the central and western railways’ Rs25.54 crore and Rs26.52 crore, respectively, in the last six months. The state government paid Rs98,000 this fiscal, but the others are yet to respond.
The defaulters, some of whom have claimed that the charges levied are unfair, are being given a free run even as the BMC suffers from a fund crunch. Municipal laws permit the BMC to discontinue water supply and charge late payment fee for default of two months and more.
“Among private and domestic users, the Khar-Santa Cruz (East) belt is the biggest defaulter, accounting for dues of Rs79.3 crore. The L-ward (Kurla, Chunabhatti) comes a close second, accounting for 9.45% of the unpaid water bills,” said an official from the assessor and collector department.
Dues of private and domestic users are to be settled through a hearing. The BMC had appointed a three-member committee to settle the issue, said Rajiv Chaugule, chairman of the law and revenue committee. “The BMC is trying to get all the dues from the government but there has been lukewarm response.”
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