Chandigarh: In a stringent and first-of-its-kind enforcement measure against property tax defaulters in the residential category, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has issued 102 water disconnection notices. This is the first time the civic body has resorted to water supply disconnection as a recovery mechanism for residential property tax dues. Officials said they expect substantial revenue recovery because several of these property owners have not paid tax for years despite receiving repeated recovery notices.According to sources in the MC, the Municipal Act authorises the civic body to seal commercial buildings in case of tax default. However, no such provision exists for residential properties because homes are considered a basic need and cannot be sealed. With no legal provision allowing sealing of residential properties, the MC has decided to proceed with the option of water supply disconnection after issuing required orders and guidelines.A senior official said the authority has issued over 100 notices for disconnection of water supply to defaulting residential units. The property tax branch has coordinated with the public health wing of the engineering department, which is carrying out enforcement on the ground. The exercise is being directly monitored by senior MC officials, who are receiving regular updates on action taken.Property tax remains one of the major revenue sources for the municipal corporation and the authority has been placing strong emphasis on improving tax collection. The city has approximately 1.42 lakh properties under the property tax ambit, of which around 1.12 lakh are residential properties and about 30,000 are commercial.Officials said repeated delays in payment by a section of residential owners had prompted the corporation to adopt a stricter enforcement model. They added that the move is aimed not only at recovering revenue but also at ensuring compliance ahead of the new financial cycle.Box: Record recoveryAs per MC records, the authority has recovered a record amount of over Rs 85 crore through property tax to date. Of this collected tax amount, around Rs 31 crore came from residential properties, while the remaining amount of around Rs 54 crore was recovered from commercial properties in the city. Moreover, the MC has sent over 3,300 recovery notices to residential and commercial property tax defaulters, asking them to pay the tax amount or be ready to face the consequences. Out of these, around 2,000 recovery notices were sent to residential tax defaulters, and approximately 1,300 were sent to commercial properties. Sources said that in a few cases involving commercial properties, sealing notices will be served in a few days as final recovery notices were issued to them.MSID:: 128118089 413 |
