Faridabad MC to recover Rs 40 crore property tax from govt departments

Tribune News Service

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, April 26

The Municipal Corporation of Faridabad has launched a drive to recover pending property tax from the Centre and state government offices in the city. It is learnt that government departments have over Rs 40 crore property tax dues.

The defaulters were being issued notices for clearance of dues and the non-compliance may result in the sealing of buildings, said an official.

It is learnt that recently an order was passed to seal the local office of the BSNL in Sector 15-A, and the office was sealed on April 23. However, the office was later opened following a request by the BSNL officials, who assured the MC that the firm would clear the dues soon. The Faridabad BSNL office has an outstanding property tax of over Rs 6.20 crore.

Other government offices/buildings with pending property tax include Defence Department building (Rs 5 crore), Administrative Reforms (Rs 5 crore), Central Energy (Rs 4 crore), DCA Club (Rs 2.64 crore), Sports Department (Rs 2.67 crore), Education Department (Rs 2.16 crore), HSVP (Rs. 1.72 crore) and Post Office (Rs 90 lakh).

Buildings of the Tourism Department, Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC), Public Health, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), police and the Mini-Secretariat housing the offices of various government officials also figure on the list, according to sources.

An official, on condition of anonymity, said recovering dues from the government departments has been a herculean task as the civic body cannot take any tough action like it can in cases of private or commercial defaulters.

It is worth noting that the MC sealed more than 120 private, commercial and residential units in the past one year. The total pending property tax in the city is reported to be over Rs 300 crore and total taxable units are around 6.30 lakh. The civic body collected Rs 62 crore in the financial year 2023-24, around Rs 5 crore more than the fiscal 2022- 23, it is reported. It is also claimed that the Model Code of Conduct would impact the drive as the MC can only serve notices, said another official.

“All efforts are being made to recover pending property tax. Any action against the defaulting units is taken as per the norms of the Municipal Corporation Act or the policy of the state government,” said Sunita Kumari, a senior official of the MC’s Taxation Department.

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