Pune: PMC Faces Criticism for Ignoring Rs 355 Crore Property Tax Dues from Government Agencies
Pune, 3rd December 2025: The Sajag Nagrik Manch has strongly criticised the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) for failing to recover long-pending property tax dues from government and semi-government bodies, even as the civic administration aggressively promotes its amnesty scheme for private taxpayers. The citizens’ group claimed that public institutions collectively owe PMC over ₹355 crore, a large chunk of which remains unrecovered despite repeated notices.
In a letter to the Municipal Commissioner, Manch president Vivek Velankar said the civic body is offering a 75% waiver on penalty charges to general taxpayers under the ongoing amnesty scheme, valid till January 15. He questioned the lack of similar urgency toward recovering dues from major government entities, arguing that this would generate far greater revenue than targeting private defaulters.
Among the biggest defaulters is the Defence Department, with arrears of ₹120 crore. Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) also owes ₹120 crore, while MSEDCL has pending dues of ₹68 crore. BSNL and MHADA each owe ₹14 crore, and nationalised banks along with various state government departments together owe around ₹20 crore. The Manch noted that while PMC actively pressures private property owners, public institutions continue to delay payments for years without facing stringent action.
The civic administration’s challenge is compounded by thousands of ongoing legal disputes. PMC data reveals that 1,667 properties have unpaid dues exceeding ₹1 crore each, contributing to total arrears of more than ₹7,700 crore. Of these, 1,336 cases relate to mobile towers, where claims worth ₹4,376 crore have been stuck in litigation for years.
The forum has demanded that PMC form a dedicated cell of legal and property tax officials to expedite these cases. Velankar said that even resolving a small share of these disputes could fetch the civic body at least ₹2,000 crore, boosting its financial stability.
The Manch has urged PMC to stop overlooking government defaulters and take concrete action to recover these substantial outstanding amounts.
