First they tried beating drums; then they put up posters and even seized furniture in the hope of shaming defaulters into paying pending property tax dues.
On Tuesday, frustrated Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials hit upon another novel idea — they staged a protest outside the gate of an apartment complex near Peenya metro station with the hope of collecting ₹22 crore from one of the blocks inside the complex that had not paid the dues.
Shive Gowda K., BBMP’s Deputy Commissioner, Rajarajeshwarinagar zone, said the BBMP had issued a distress warrant a week ago. “When we went to the apartment complex on Tuesday, we locked the gate and put up posters,” he said.
The civic body will write to the Department of Stamps and Registration to make a note of the property tax due in the encumbrance certificates issued by the jurisdictional sub-registrars.
“Civic commissioner B.H. Anil Kumar will also write to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) to disconnect water and power connections to the block,” said Mr. Gowda.
There are a total of 1,676 housing units in the apartment complex, which has seven blocks, of which one of the blocks with 162 units of serviced apartments has defaulted. “Around 11 years ago, the BBMP had fixed the property tax at commercial rates. However, the apartment complex had filed an appeal. Around two months ago, the Standing Committee for Appeals upheld the BBMP’s move and rejected the appeal, following which demand notices were issued,” he added.
The defaulters have sought more time to pay the dues. “However, we did not seize anything this time. We just put up posters and have warned them against defaulting on payments again,” Mr. Gowda said.
