Ludhiana civic body steps up efforts to recover pending property tax for ongoing fiscal, ET RealEstate
LUDHIANA: To recover the long-pending tax dues from govt properties, MC officials have now started identifying the particular buildings, especially those where commercial activity takes place but property taxes are not being paid by them to the civic body. Notices are being served on the departments concerned for the recovery of the dues, and MC officials are also putting up pictures of the defaulting properties.
The MC has already issued notices to the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (Glada) for four of their prime properties on Chandigarh Road, including a liquor vend, Glada ground where a circus is ongoing, a community centre, and a sports complex. The public works department is also on the radar for its office building on Rani Jhansi Road, while the Circuit House has already been sent one notice.
Notices will also be sent to the multi-storey parking lot at the DC office, the judicial complex, as well as the advocate chambers. Punjab Agricultural University, too, is set to get an MC notice as it has given part of its premises on rent to some shops.
Earlier, MC officials used to send a simple notice to the department concerned for clearing the property tax dues, which would often go unheeded.
MC superintendent Vivek Verma said, “We achieved the targets last year. This time around, we are aiming to surpass last year’s target. So, we have started with the identification of govt departments first for tax collection.”
He said the departments are given enough time to settle their dues. If they fail to do so, MC teams will inspect the area, calculate the tax amount, and the department under which it falls will have to bear it, or else they will seal that building.
The MC had previously attempted to recover the dues from govt departments, but met with limited success. The police department cleared their dues after the then MC commissioner, Shena Aggarwal, approached the officials concerned. However, Glada and other departments are yet to do so. It is to be seen whether MC achieves success this time or not.
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