Government departments in the national Capital are the biggest property tax defaulters. Even as Municipal corporations in Delhi battle a financial crunch, governmental and public utility departments owe the three civic agencies more than Rs2,000 crore in property taxes. Senior officials, however, said that the while some of the property tax cases were pending in the high court, attempts were being made for an out of court settlement.
According to the data available with the corporations, departments that have defaulted include the likes of BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna, NDPL, Delhi Police, Delhi Zoo, Sports Authority of India, Airport Authority and Housing & Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO), Delhi Development Authority, Delhi Milk Scheme, Transport Authority (Sant Nagar) and IARC Pusa.
Various departments owe three municipal corporations a little over Rs 2085 crore as property tax, which according to senior officials could end their acute financial crunch. The defaulters owe the east, north and south corporations Rs 466 crore, Rs 743 crore and Rs 876 crore, respectively. Senior officials said while the amount has been collected over the years, cases in court have also resulted in loss to the corporation.
Senior officials in the corporation are in talks with the various defaulting agencies for an out-of-court settlement, senior officials said. “We have already initiated talks with various agencies to settle the matter out of court. While most of them are government agencies, a court case will cost time and money,” said a senior official.
The municipal corporations are currently under the debt of Rs 1,200 crore, and the condition could change if the various department pay their outstanding property taxes. “The three corporations need a little over Rs 1,200 crore to function properly and carry out the various development projects in their area. If these departments pay their due amounts, the civic agencies would not require any additional aides-in funds from the Delhi government,” said a senior official.
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