By our correspondent

Tejas Navale 

Pune: THE property tax department of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal has collected a record revenue of Rs 977 crore for the financial year 2023-2024. PCMC officials said this was the highest revenue collected by the PCMC in its four decade old history.

In entire, Pimpri-Chinchwad there are around 6.25 lakh properties. 

PCMC Assistant Municipal Commssioner Nilesh Deshmukh who has been primarly instrumental in the record tax collection said though ''we missed the target of Rs 1000 crore set by Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Singh, we still managed to collect an amount which is close to Rs 1000 crore. This amount is the highest ever collected by PCMC in its entire history.

Mr Deshmukh said the property tax department had collected Rs 816 crore tax revenue in 2022-23 fiscal. ''And therefore the amount of Rs 977 collected in 2023-24 is the highest one ever collected by any department of the PCMC. fiscal, we have collected Rs 977 crore tax revenue.''

Municipal Commissioner Shekhar SIngh who lauded the property tax department said various measures and incenstive schemes were put in place which ensured the record revenue collection. ''We had sealed and confiscated properties of defaulters, cut off their water tap connections, published the ames of defaulters in the media and confiscated properties of defaulters who could not pay their dues.''

Besides putting up Memes and holding Reels competiton, Mr Deshmukh said had put up boards and advertisements on roadsides urging people to pay up their pending dues and pay their property tax on time and avail of various discounts. 

To speed up property tax collection, online payment facility was provided and tax bills were distributed the property tax bills through women's self help groups, Mr Deshmukh.