MUMBAI: BMC has written to two key state agencies -Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) -flagging their property tax dues of over Rs 2,287 crore and seeking immediate payment.
In letters sent on March 16, just days before the end of the financial year, it said property tax remains its primary revenue source and is critical for funding civic services and infrastructure projects across the city.
As per BMC’s records as on Jan 31, MMRDA has arrears of Rs 1,685.6 crore across 128 properties-Rs 946.2 crore in unpaid taxes and Rs 739.4 crore in penalties. Mhada owes Rs 601.6 crore from 3,636 properties, including Rs 222.5 crore in penalties. “In view of the substantial outstanding amounts, instructions should be issued to ensure immediate payment of dues,” BMC said in the letters.
Officials from the property tax department said the bulk of MMRDA’s dues stem from unpaid taxes on its casting yards and Metro stations, while Mhada’s arrears are linked to properties it owns, including chawls such as BDD chawls.
Additional municipal commissioner Ashwini Joshi, who is in charge of the civic property tax department and sent the letters, said the civic body is working on ensuring that property tax dues from various departments are recovered. “We have sent a communication to both the agencies. Our property tax collection this year (Rs 6,331 crore) has already exceeded last year’s (Rs 6,200 crore).”
Property tax is BMC’s single largest revenue source, levied on over 9 lakh properties. The civic body’s dependence on this stream has deepened since 2017, when octroi-once its biggest revenue generator -was scrapped following the rollout of GST. With collections already crossing last year’s mop-up ahead of schedule, officials said the renewed push to recover long pending dues is aimed at further strengthening BMC’s finances.
Currently, around 3.6 lakh properties in Mumbai are exempt from property tax as their carpet area is under 500sqft-a policy implemented since 2022 by BMC following a state govt directive. Recently, the civic House passed a notice of motion as well seeking to increase the exemption limit for property taxes for residential units from 500sqft to 700sqft.
