For the first time after several years, the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has crossed the Rs 2 crore figure in tax collection owing to an aggressive recovery campaign of property tax and water bills in the past few days. As there are 30 more days for the campaign to end, it is estimated that Rs 30 - Rs 35 crore will be by the end of this month.
This year, the property tax and water bill collection, which was stalled for two years during the COVID pandemic, has been taken up on a war footing by NMC's tax department. For this, notices were repeatedly issued to property holders and those with tap connections.
Attachment notices have been served to some properties, and hundreds of tap connections have been cut. For the current financial year, the civic body has set a target of Rs 175 crore for property tax recovery and Rs 75 crore for water bills. Therefore, the municipal corporation has taken stringent action to recover the arrears.
As many as 76,000 defaulters have been issued notices, even as seizure warrants are in progress.
Following NMC's action, Rs 208 crore had been recovered by the end of February, of which Rs 158 crore is property tax and Rs 50 crore is in the form of water bills.
This is considered a record recovery in the past few years.
Action against govt offices too
Even as strict action is being taken against common citizens, government offices have defaulted on paying taxes worth Rs 10 crore.
Property tax of Rs 9.92 crore is outstanding with 31 government offices within the municipal limits. As there has been no response from these offices despite issuing notices, the municipal corporation has sent them semi-official letters, reminding them of the legal provisions regarding action against defaulters. It is expected that the government offices will pay the tax by the end of March.