Ah, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has got some juicy information about their Abhay Yojana for property tax defaulters. Turns out, almost half of the folks who benefited from the scheme are back in arrears. The Abhay Yojana was launched in 2020-21 to help recover property tax arrears, with nearly 150,000 delinquent property tax holders taking advantage of the benefits. But, the PMC ended up losing a whopping Rs. 210 crores due to penalty and interest waivers.
In a bid to tackle the ongoing arrears issue, the PMC reintroduced the Abhay Yojana in 2021-22, resulting in another 66,000 property tax holders using the scheme and an additional loss of Rs. 64 crores. Some critics slammed the scheme for being unfair to honest taxpayers who dutifully pay their dues on time.
Vivek Velankar from Sajag Nagarik Manch raised concerns about the recurring delinquency problem, citing data obtained through the RTI Act that showed many beneficiaries of the Abhay Yojana defaulting on their taxes again. Out of the 149,000 property holders who benefited from the 2020-21 scheme, over 56,000 are back in arrears, while 41,000 out of the 66,000 beneficiaries from the 2021-22 scheme are also in the same boat.
Velankar highlighted the impact on honest taxpayers, expressing worries that the arrears would just pile up until a new Abhay Yojana is introduced. Madhav Jagtap, Chief of the PMC Property Tax Department, responded to the RTI findings, mentioning that the Municipal Commissioner will decide on actions against those who have slipped back into arrears. A special recovery drive will be launched for these defaulters, and the PMC has no plans to implement the Abhay Yojana again.
Looks like the PMC has its work cut out for it, trying to recover those recurring arrears and prevent such delinquency from happening again, all while being fair to the taxpayers who play by the rules.
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