Rs 2,000 crore in 5 months: Property tax windfall filling up BBMP coffers

The BBMP’s coffers are filling, and filling up fast.

The civic body has netted Rs 2,052.13 crore in property tax from April 1 to August 31 this financial year, as against Rs 1,881.36 crore it had collected in the same period last fiscal year.

While the BBMP’s stated property tax target for 2021-22 is Rs 4,000 crore, it’s confident of netting at least Rs 3,500 crore, a senior official said.

One of the factors contributing to high tax collection in the pandemic year is the BBMP’s focus on bringing properties on the city’s outskirts into the tax net. The civic has conducted nearly 57 ‘Khata Melas’ in all of its eight zones and succeeded in bringing 21,000 new properties into the tax net.

“We are focusing on the outskirts because a large number of properties there are still out of the tax purview,” said Basavaraju S, Special Commissioner (Revenue), BBMP. Officials aim to bring at least one lakh such properties under the tax net this financial year.

Mahadevapura Zone, which comprises many neighbourhoods populated by IT professionals in eastern and southeastern Bengaluru, has seen five Khata Melas so far.

Officials are also going after property tax defaulters and have made them pay Rs 120 crore in arrears. Out of 3.5 lakh defaulters, nearly 1,41,000 have already been served notices, Basavaraju added.

One of the ways in which the BBMP is making defaulters pay is by visiting their homes every Wednesday. “Our officials personally visit the properties and serve notices on defaulters,” Basavaraju said.

Besides, property owners yet to pay tax for the current year have been issued demand notices so that they come forward and pay in time, he added.

The BBMP is also going to focus on large commercial establishments with huge tax arrears. “We’ll make them pay soon,” a senior BBMP official said.