Only four out of around 200 marble shops that line the stretch from Chhattarpur temple to Asola were found to be paying property tax when the South Delhi Municipal Corporation carried out a door-to-door survey on Friday.
The SDMC’s Assessment and Collection Department carried out a door-to-door survey of marble shops in the markets of Chhattarpur, Satbari, Chandanhola and Fatehpur Beri.
Officials took measurements of the shops to compute the tax owed.
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They also issued 180 notices to defaulters on the spot.
The SDMC, which is struggling to control its deficit, is losing Rs.2 crore in revenue annually on account of tax evasion by these shops.
“Similar surveys will continue throughout the year in different areas or trades so all tax defaulters can be brought within the tax net. If need be, we will levy a 30 per cent penalty on the defaulters,” said SDMC Assessor and Collector Ram Mohan Singh.
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SDMC Commissioner Puneet Kumar Goel added that the civic body had managed to increase property tax collection this financial year by 20 per cent as compared to the same period last year.
Property tax is one of the major sources of revenue for the SDMC, which could be headed towards a financial crisis like the North and East Delhi corporations.