The Bhopal city council will sell off properties of top defaulters

The Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) has 900 private properties on its list of the top 85 defaulters up for auction 21 days after a notice is delivered. The action is being taken as the civic organisation seeks to raise money and recoup dues from the city. The last three years have seen a rise in income collection for BMC notwithstanding the pandemic.

PC Sharma, a senior member of the Congress and MLA, stated that the pandemic had a terrible influence on people's quality of life. Some people are struggling to make ends meet. If BMC also puts their homes up for auction, where will these folks stay? Tax recovery requires a sensitive attitude. Former MLA and BJP state executive committee member, Dhruvnarayan Singh, said, “There has to be equity is tax collection.” He pointed out that one part of the new parts of the city paying more tax than the other.

The first stage of the programme is expected to generate about Rs 10 crore for BMC. In order to reclaim unpaid property tax or water tax, notices are first being issued in accordance with Section 173 of the MP Municipal Corporation Act, 1956. According to BMC commissioner KVS Choudary, "The corporation becomes free to take action under Sections 175-178 (action the property) if the property owner does not deposit the tax within three weeks of the issue of the auction notice.