Pune: PMC Revenue Augmentation Cell Meets After Five Years as Rs 2,500 Crore Deficit Raises Alarm

Pune, 25th December 2025: The Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) Revenue Augmentation Cell, formed in January 2020 to strengthen the civic body’s finances, held its first meeting on Wednesday—nearly five years after its constitution—against the backdrop of a widening gap between projected and actual revenue.

The meeting was chaired by Additional Municipal Commissioner Prithviraj B. P.

The cell was constituted when PMC’s income began showing a downward trend but remained largely inactive for years. With two of its original members having retired, the civic administration has now reconstituted the committee. Deputy Commissioner of the Tax Collection Department Ravi Pawar and Building Department official Jaywant Pawar have been appointed as new members, replacing former property tax chief Vilas Kanade and Amar Shinde from the Building Department.

During the meeting, officials held preliminary discussions on measures to boost revenue, particularly from property tax and building development charges. These remain the only major income sources available to the civic body after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
PMC’s annual budget has crossed Rs 10,000 crore in recent years, but actual revenue collections have consistently fallen short of estimates. As a result, the budgetary deficit has crossed Rs 2,500 crore, raising serious concerns over the corporation’s financial health.

Despite PMC’s jurisdiction nearly doubling since 2017 following the merger of surrounding villages, property tax revenue has declined instead of rising. Large arrears have accumulated in the newly merged areas. The situation has been further complicated by state government directives asking PMC to levy property tax at double the gram panchayat rates in these villages, while simultaneously instructing the civic body to suspend recovery until a final decision is taken.

Earlier, PMC had around 9.5 lakh registered properties and collected close to Rs 2,300 crore annually. Following village mergers and new constructions, the number of registered properties has increased to nearly 15 lakh. However, with just three months remaining in the current financial year, PMC has managed to collect only around Rs 2,000 crore so far. This includes approximately Rs 250 crore collected within a month after the civic administration introduced an amnesty scheme.

Officials said the revived Revenue Augmentation Cell is expected to identify bottlenecks in tax recovery and recommend corrective measures to stabilise PMC’s fragile finances.