Three govt bodies default on property tax, Mohali MC shoots letter to heads

Having sent multiple reminders to the deputy commissioner’s office, Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) and Mohali police department asking them to pay property tax dues collectively amounting to around ?2 crore to no avail, the Mohali municipal corporation chief has now sent letters to the heads of all three government bodies asking them to settle the dues at the earliest.

MC chief Kamal Kumar Garg said, “I have written a letter to the heads of all three offices asking them to pay the property tax immediately.”

In response to what action will be taken in case the departments fail to oblige, Garg said a decision had not yet been taken on that front.

Interestingly, at the top of the list of defaulters is the local police department, which has not paid a single penny to the Mohali municipal corporation (MC) ever since the latter introduced the tax in 2013-14. The department owes tax dues amounting to ?1 crore. The department has multiple properties at its disposal, which include several police stations, cyber crime office and women’s cell. Attempts to reach Mohali senior superintendent of police Kuldeep Singh Chahal were unsuccessful.

GMADA owes the MC ?80 lakh in property tax. The state development authority, too, has been defaulting on the tax since it was levied. It has to pay dues for its building in Sector 62, the sports complex and several shops. GMADA estate officer Sanjeev Kumar said, “We are calculating the dues we owe the MC and will settle the tax as soon as it is done. We have sought details from the department concerned.”

The district administrative complex in Sector 76 has accrued property tax dues amounting to ?15 lakh in the last two years. Mohali deputy commissioner Aashika Jain said, “We will settle our pending dues once we receive grants from the state government.”

The state local bodies department has already given property tax defaulters in Mohali additional time to pay the tax. The rebate is in effect till March 31.

Mohali has 52,678 properties, of which 41,082 are residential, 4,929 commercial, 1,683 industrial and 4,984 vacant plots. As many as 24,406 of these buildings are taxable. Of 39,000 tax payers in Mohali, around 4,000 have not paid property tax in six years.