In a first, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation ropes in women’s self-help groups to deliver property tax bills

PCMC has launched the Siddhi initiative through which as many as 300 women from self-help groups will distribute property tax bills.

“We have undertaken the Siddhi initiative to ensure speedy distribution of the property tax bills. We are expecting a rise in revenue through this project. We are confident that women will do the distribution job with tenacity and perfection. All women who participate in this project will be given identity cards,” Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Singh said Tuesday.

The civic administration said it will spend Rs 90 lakh annually for the purpose.

“In the last fiscal, we had sent property tax bills through the postal department. However, several property tax bills were returned as there were wrong addresses. As a result, some citizens did not get their bills. Therefore, we have decided to distribute the bills through self-help groups, which is a part of PCMC’s effort for women’s empowerment,” said PCMC Assistant Municipal Commissioner Nilesh Deshmukh.

Deshmukh said they have taken the help of the Mahila Arthik Mahamandal to select self-help groups and their members for the distribution of the bills.

The civic administration said the step is a part of the Mission Swalamban, which is aimed at encouraging women’s self-help groups to find their footing. “Women who have smartphones have been given training. They have been trained to update the information of property owners in the civic app. They have been trained to ensure that all the relevant information of property tax owners is properly updated in the app,” said a civic body official.

For every bill which reaches a property owner’s home, the women’s self-help groups will get Rs 15. PCMC expects to spend Rs 90 lakh annually on it. “Last fiscal, the property tax bills were sent through the postal department which incurred us an expenditure of Rs 18 lakh,” said Deshmukh.

In Pimpri-Chinchwad, there are over 597785 property owners. PCMC distributes property tax bills twice a year. Last fiscal, it collected over Rs 800 crore in property tax revenue, which was the highest in PCMC’s history. “In this fiscal, we have set a target of collecting Rs 1000 crore revenue,” said Deshmukh.

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Officials in the property tax department said the department has a shortage of manpower. “We have only 35 per cent of staff. The appointment of women’s self-help groups for bill distribution will ease our workload and lead to quick delivery of the bills,” said Deshmukh.