Gurgaon: Municipal Corporation of Manesar (MCM) on Thursday announced a sweeping crackdown on residential properties illegally operating as paying guest (PG) accommodation and other commercial establishments while evading higher property taxes. MCM also warned that failure to register property IDs could result in disruption of essential municipal services, including waste collection and water supply.In a stern warning to property owners, the civic body — in an order — acknowledged that a “substantial number” of properties officially recorded as residential are, in reality, being used wholly or partially for PGs, hostels and other commercial activities.Joint commissioner Lokesh Yadav said, “Property owners have converted their residential property into PG, hostel, coaching centre or small commercial establishments, but did not change the use of their property in corporation records. Less tax is levied on residential property and more tax is levied on commercial use. Taking advantage of this difference, property holders are causing loss to the corporation’s revenue.” MCM has now made it mandatory for all owners and occupiers to self-declare the actual use of their properties, cautioning that “misdeclaration or concealment amounts to tax evasion” and will invite penal action under the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, and allied rules.The civic body has now constituted inspection and verification teams to conduct physical inspections and use-based assessments, signalling an end to the largely paper-based oversight that allowed commercial operations to flourish unchecked in residential areas. Officials said that discrepancies between municipal records and ground reality will trigger “harsh consequences”, including retrospective reassessment of property tax based on actual use, penalties of up to 100% of the differential tax amount with interest and coercive action such as recovery proceedings, sealing of premises, disconnection of water and sewer services, and even prosecution.The joint commissioner added, “Commercial use of residential property is causing loss to the corporation’s revenue. Due to IMT Manesar being in the corporation area, a large number of workers, students and young workforce is coming and living here. There are many such properties in the corporation area which are residential in corporation records while they are actually being used commercially.” The civic body also offered that voluntary self-declaration made before inspection by MCM teams will be considered under law. However, it categorically ruled out any leniency for violations detected during verification, underlining that post-inspection disclosures will not shield defaulters from punishment.
