Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation starts auction of seized properties of those who failed to pay property tax, sends notices to tax dept officials for not meeting target
Deputy municipal commissioner Yuvraj Badane talks to civic officials about the auction at UMC headquarters. Pic/Navneet Barhate
The Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) put up 28 properties of tax defaulters for auction yesterday. The citizens in question had not paid property tax to the corporation. Two of them later came forward and paid the dues.
The remaining 26 properties are likely to be declared as belonging to the civic body.
The UMC has also issued a showcause notices to eight tax department officials for collecting less then 25 per cent tax from their wards. The corporation had seized 35 properties of tax defaulters, warning them to pay up. "Seven did, 28 were not ready to. They have not paid tax for the last 10 years. So, on Tuesday, we decided to start the auction, when two more came and paid the pending tax. The rest are going to be auctioned; anyone can participate after paying a fee of Rs 25,000,"said Yuvraj Badane, head of the property tax department, public relations officer and deputy municipal commissioner, UMC.
"The auction started at 11 am, but no one came forward to buy any of the properties. If no one does, the corporation will take over them."
Former UMC chief Rajendra Nimbalkar had started the initiative of collecting property tax from defaulters. UMC had to collect Rs 371.27 crore tax, of which Rs 110 crore was for 2016. After demonetisation, it was successful in collecting Rs 82 crore. Nimbalkar had set a target of Rs 100 crore to be collected before March 31. After he was transferred to the Panvel Municipal Corporation, the new chief, Sudhakar Shinde, is aiming to achieve the target.
"We have to collect Rs 261 crore in property tax. In the past, we have seized around 170 properties. After we are done dealing with the 26 properties currently on auction, we will put up 150 in the next phase; defaulters can either pay up or lose them," said Badane. Every tax department official was given the task of collecting Rs 1 lakh from their ward in a month. Badane has informed Shinde of the eight who are lagging behind, "We have sent showcause notices to them as they have not completed their target. We have informed them that if they delay further, strict action will be taken, including suspension."
