Pune district gram panchayats mop up Rs 354 crore in taxes, set record

“The year-on-year growth rate of 7.5 per cent is a remarkable achievement, especially considering the 23 villages with high tax demands that were recently merged with the Pune Municipal Corporation,” the zilla parishad administration said.

Ayush Prasad, chief executive officer of the Pune zilla parishad, credited the tax collection success to several factors such as rigorous follow-up, timely distribution of notices, digital payment methods, door-to-door tax collection and tax payment camps.

Other factors contributing to the successful tax collection included coordination with bulk taxpayers like housing societies and industrial associations, special adalats for resolving disputes over ownership and boundaries and the central government’s Swamitva scheme, he said.

Under the Swamitva scheme, drone surveys were conducted to estimate the exact nature and areas of built-up properties. “This helped to identify correct boundaries of properties, provide clear land titles, and also identify and bring some extension to existing structures and cattle sheds into the tax net. Additionally, women’s names were added to property cards, with 8.15 lakh property cards now having women’s names, which helped update the property records by deleting the names of deceased people from property cards. Tax notices were issued in the names of all the owners of the house, including women. This helped in improving compliance to the notices,” Prasad said.

Lok adalats organised by the judiciary multiple times also contributed to the achievement, with all disputes that were not resolved at the gram panchayats being referred to them, leading to the collection of at least ₹ 70 crore in taxes.

Sachin Ghadge, deputy chief executive officer of the zilha parishad, said the money would be used for providing public amenities in gram panchayats.

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“Solid waste management is a focus area under the Swachh Bharat Mission and is also among the nine sustainable development goals being targeted by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. The record-breaking tax collection is a significant milestone for the gram panchayats in Pune district and serves as a testament to the dedication and hard work of all those involved. This is also the highest tax collection anywhere in the country,” he said.