The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) has collected over Rs 49 crore in the form of property tax in the last two months.
Zone 3, which includes upscale colonies such as DLF and Sushant Lok, topped the list with the maximum recovery of almost Rs 20 crore. It was followed by Zone 2 and Zone 4, where taxes amounting to Rs 12.3 crore and Rs 10.3 crore were recovered, respectively. Zone 1 was last with a collection of around Rs 8 crore as property tax.
The recovery was conducted along with sealing of properties by the enforcement wing, which sealed over 50 properties, including those of several developers, since January this year.
Properties, which were sealed included clubs, construction companies, shops in malls and residential properties. Around 19 properties were sealed in Zone 3 and 18 properties in Zone 4 for non-payment of property tax despite several reminders, a zonal taxation officer said.
Last year, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar took serious note of pending property tax worth crores and directed the MCG commissioner to recover the tax from defaulters owing over Rs 20 lakh in dues. Following the CM’s directives, MCG conducted a survey that revealed that there are over 250 properties in city’s four zones where owners hadn’t paid property tax.
An official said that the corporation is sending notices to defaulters in the city asking them to pay the tax on time, failing which their properties will be attached and penalty will be imposed on them. “Once the property is attached, the sale and purchase of the property is restricted till the tax dues are cleared by the owner,” he added.
The corporation had put up as many as 25 properties located in Udyog Vihar, Sector 35, Nirvana Country, Sohna Road and several other parts of the city for auction last year after their owners failed to pay property tax.
“It is a matter of grave concern that till date no report on property tax has been forwarded by the taxation officers after having been given clear-cut directions by the senior officials…..Action would be taken against any official found responsible for further delay,” former MCG commissioner Yashpal Yadav had written in a strong-worded letter to senior officials.
