Property tax: Top 500 defaulters under the scanner

Under constant criticism for not recovering property tax dues from defaulters, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), in the Mahadevapura zone, which is touted to be the biggest in terms of demand, collection and default, will focus on the top 500 defaulters.

K. Shive Gowda, Deputy Commissioner, Mahadevapura zone, said out of the ₹800 crore revenue expected, they had collected ₹511 crore so far.

“This zone is the biggest in the city in terms of demand for property tax due to the large number of IT parks. As many as 9,891 properties have been served show-cause notices. We will now focus on the top 500 defaulters, which includes IT parks. We have already issued distress warrants to around 100 properties,” he said.

A total of 3.51 lakh properties pay property tax online in the zone. There were property owners who had not paid property taxes for eight years, he added.

The top 500 defaulters owe ₹29.93 crore, officials said.

M. Venkatachalapathy, Joint Commissioner (Revenue), BBMP said the civic body had so far collected ₹2,100 crore this year, against the target of ₹3,000 crore. “Last year we had collected ₹2,170 crore. As we have a few more months left, we are hoping to improve our revenue collection for this year,” he said.