Property tax: Panchkula MC to start sealing defaulters’ buildings

The Panchkula municipal corporation has decided to start sealing tax defaulters’ buildings if the dues are not cleared within 15 days of receiving the notice

With nearly 99,000 property owners yet to pay property tax worth ₹170 crore, the Panchkula municipal corporation (MC) has decided to start sealing their buildings if the dues are not cleared within 15 days of receiving the notice.

As many as 119 private buildings and 46 government buildings collectively owe the Panchkula MC  ₹70.85 crore. (Getty Images)

Looking at the long list of defaulters, to begin with MC will be acting against defaulters whose property tax dues are more than ₹10 lakh. The list features 119 private buildings and 46 government buildings that collectively owe ₹70.85 crore.

As per MC data, the 119 private properties owe it ₹38.66 crore. The major defaulters are Hotel Golden Tulip, Ramgarh Fort, Holiday Inn, Vintegrate Technology Private Limited, Sector 22, and St Teresa Public School, Sector 25.

The 46 government properties have defaulted on tax worth ₹32.19 crore. These include UHBVN, HSVP, Tau Devi Lal Stadium and Gymkhana Club in Sector 3.

MC commissioner Sachin Gupta on Friday held a meeting with officials, where MC executive officer Akash Kapoor informed him that notices had been issued to property tax defaulters well in time, but dues were still outstanding.

On this, Gupta instructed the officials to upload the list of property tax defaulters on the MC website.

“For starters, issue notices to all property tax defaulters within a week and ask them to pay the dues within 15 days. In case defaulters do not pay up within 15 days, MC should seal their premises,” Gupta instructed the officials.

It may be mentioned that MC had issued notices to all 46 government building and 30 private buildings in March, but so far none of them has paid up.