Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) continues to face significant challenges with its fiscal management, as property tax arrears have escalated to an alarming Rs938 crore by the conclusion of the 2024-25 financial year. According to NMC statistics, more than 67% of property owners have failed to fulfill their property tax obligations, leaving the municipal authority in a precarious situation.
Despite collecting approximately Rs318 crore in property tax during the previous fiscal year, the outstanding dues are nearly three times the amount recovered, highlighting a critical gap in compliance and enforcement. Out of a total of 6.87 lakh properties registered within the municipal boundaries, 4.6 lakh did not pay their taxes in the last financial year.
NMC had set a property tax target of Rs325 crore but managed to recover only Rs284 crore, excluding taxes from government properties. The Ashi Nagar zone reported the highest number of defaulters, with 1.08 lakh out of 1.19 lakh properties failing to pay their dues, contributing nearly Rs169 crore to the arrears. The Mangalwari and Laxmi Nagar zones followed closely, with 51,813 and 40,729 defaulting properties, respectively. The arrears in Mangalwari amount to an astonishing Rs159.6 crore, while Laxmi Nagar owes Rs153 crore. Collectively, these three zones represent nearly half of NMC’s total outstanding dues.
The Dhantoli zone has the fewest defaulting properties, yet it still has pending dues amounting to Rs50.9 crore. Out of 22,521 properties in this zone, 10,034 have failed to pay their property taxes. In contrast, Gandhibag has recorded 14,906 defaulters from a total of 27,459 properties, with pending dues of Rs18.9 crore, which is the lowest arrear amount among all zones.
Sataranjipura also demonstrated relatively better compliance, with 26,273 properties defaulting out of 42,039, resulting in Rs32.9 crore in unpaid taxes. Overall, the total number of defaulters across all ten zones stands at 460,685, with cumulative arrears reaching Rs938.7 crore.
Civic officials recognize that the increasing trend of tax defaults is jeopardizing the municipal corporation’s capacity to finance infrastructure and essential services. Despite numerous awareness campaigns and notifications sent to property owners, enforcement actions have largely proven ineffective. Sources indicate that officials are considering more stringent recovery measures, such as sealing properties, publishing lists of defaulters, and pursuing legal action. However, without systematic reforms and a more robust administrative effort, the financial stability of the civic body may continue to deteriorate due to the burden of unpaid dues.