AMC to auction three properties to recover dues

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, in the first week of January, will auction off three private properties whose property tax is overdue. In October, the civic body has issued an alert notice to pay the dues to 21 tax defaulters, of whom, 11 defaulters had paid their dues.

The civic body is owed a total of around Rs 2,500 crore by tax defaulters, majority of which include closed textile mills. Last month, the civic body had decided to auction the properties of defaulters and had appointed a property valuer. After deciding value of the properties, the civic body has decided to first auction off three properties.

"In the first go, we will auction off three properties. In the next phase, we will auction more. Although we have invited bids online, the auction will take place as per the old system. The auctioning will take place at the particular property's location itself," said Debashish Banerjee, tax collector, AMC.

"The valuer has estimated the price of the three properties at around Rs 25 crore. We are owed around Rs 1 crore in taxes from the three defaulters. When the properties are auctioned off, the buyers will pay us our dues," he explained.

On January 2 and 3, 2019, the three properties will be auctioned. The bidders are invited to offer their bids within 15 days via an online platform. One of the properties to be auctioned is the Saheli party plot located in Memnagar. The value of the land is estimated at Rs 24.63 crore while the civic body is owed Rs 67.78 lakh in taxes by this defaulter. The other two properties are located in the central zone and are commercial units.

One tax defaulter whose property was about to be auctioned has paid his dues. According to sources, defaulters can pay their dues until the last day of this year. "The defaulters can pay their dues till January 1, 2019. If they make the payment, we will not auction off the property. In the meantime, we are drawing up a list of another five properties to auction off," said an official.

ON THE ANVIL

The 3 properties will be auctioned on January 2 and 3. The bidders can  offer their bids in 15 days via an online platform. One of the properties to be auctioned is the Saheli party plot in Memnagar