The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) administration has suggested a 10% increase in property tax to “enhance revenue,” with the standing committee set to make a decision on this matter during a meeting on Monday, according to civic officials.
At present, the standing committee is composed solely of civic officials, as the new general body of elected corporators has yet to be established. Citizens’ groups and activists have voiced their opposition to this proposal, contending that the administration should focus on intensifying efforts to recover outstanding dues from defaulters.
“There are numerous significant tax defaulters. Revenue generation is feasible if their dues are collected,” stated Prashant Badhe of Aple Pune, Apala Parisar, a citizens’ group. Vivek Velankar of Sajag Nagrik Manch remarked that diligent taxpayers should not bear the burden of a tax increase. “The civic body should ensure that property owners who fulfill their tax obligations are rewarded, rather than imposing additional taxes on them.”
According to PMC data, approximately Rs 7,000 crore in dues needs to be recovered from mobile towers, double taxes, disputed tax claims, tax on government properties, among other sources. The civic administration has set a target of generating Rs 2,800 crore in revenue for the financial year 2025-26 in its budget, having collected around Rs 2,200 crore thus far.
Civic officials indicated that recovery drives have been conducted. Additionally, the administration has recovered approximately Rs 713 crore from tax defaulters over two months under an amnesty scheme that concluded on January 15, which has now been extended by an additional month. “Since the monthly penalty of 2% compound interest exceeded the original tax amount, an amnesty scheme was implemented,” a civic official explained.
Nearly 14.5 lakh properties fall under the corporation’s jurisdiction and are required to pay tax. The tax rates for commercial properties are higher than those for residential properties. Following the abolition of Octroi and local body tax, the civic administration has very limited options for revenue generation, primarily relying on property tax.
