Thane: In a first, TMC makes record property tax recovery of Rs 720 cr

The Thane Municipal Corporation TMC on Friday said it has collected Rs 720 crore property tax from residents for the financial year 202223This is for the first time the municipal corporation has crossed the mark of Rs 700 crore Last year the civic body had collected Rs 591 crore in property taxes and this year it has managed to collect Rs 115 crore moreThe revised collection in the civic bodyrsquos budget was shown as Rs 70525 croreRs 14 crore were recovered on March 31 While Rs 84 crore property tax was collected from March 1 2023 to March 31 2023 the civic body saidThane Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar expressed his gratitude to all the Thanekars for completing the record property tax collection of Rs 720 crore for the financial year 202223Also Read Thane civic body chief asks health department to increase vigil amid rise in influenza Covid19 casesFor effective collection and recovery of property tax the TMC top officials held regular review meetings and all collection centers were kept open even on weekends and public holidays to achieve the target Awareness was raised through drives on social media in cinema halls theatres and through loudspeakers in housing societies and shopping areas Bangarrsquos orders not to issue development permissions till developers pay the dues also helped boost property tax collectionIn March collections to the tune of Rs 8345 crore were recovered of which Rs 5960 crore were recovered between March 1530According to the civic body Rs 16617 crore was collected through online mode and cheques totalling Rs 34956 crore were received Demand drafts of Rs 10016 crore were received and Rs 203 crore through debit and credit card mode while a chunk of Rs 9322 crore came through cash collectionsIn order to save the time of the citizens online facilities have been made available Efforts are being made to make this scheme as simple and easy as possible and awareness is being created among the citizens Bangar saidThe civic body said taxpayers who pay the arrears and complete tax from April 1 to June 15 will get a 10 per cent discount while there will be a 2 per cent discount for those paying between June 16 and June 30 3 per cent for payments from July 131 and 2 per cent from August 130The Thane Municipal Corporation has set a target of Rs 800 crore for 202324 in the budget approved earlier this monthThe civic body said that in view of the recovery made in the current year allout efforts will be made to meet the target of Rs 800 crore next year Currently there is a major challenge of pending liability To deal with it it is necessary to maintain the financial discipline of expenditure on the one hand and on the other hand to take measures to increase income These efforts need to be largely supported by the efforts of the property tax department civic officials said