BELAGAVI: A troubling trend is emerging in Belagavi city, where nearly 40% of property owners have not settled their property tax dues for the 2025-26 financial year, raising crucial concerns about both revenue recovery and administrative efficiency.
According to insiders at the Belagavi City Corporation (BCC), the city has 166,178 registered properties. Out of these, property tax dues have only been cleared for 95,829 properties. This includes defaulters from various sectors, such as private residences, businesses, educational institutions, and even government establishments.
Despite assertions of financial discipline and efforts to enhance revenue collection, BCC only gathered ₹70.8 crore in property tax for 2025-26—a mere increase of ₹1.3 crore compared to the previous year—suggesting limited improvement in enforcement.
The initial collection target for BCC was set at ₹78 crore, along with ₹11 crore in arrears. However, actual collections fell significantly short, resulting in a considerable revenue deficit largely due to widespread non-payment from property owners.
Officials recognize that this low recovery rate has adversely affected the corporation’s financial planning and its ability to finance development projects, raising concerns about the performance of the revenue department.
For the upcoming 2026-27 financial year, the property tax collection target has been raised to ₹85 crore, with an additional ₹7 crore anticipated from arrears. Consequently, the total recovery target is expected to exceed ₹92 crore.
With the backlog increasing and persistent non-compliance, the corporation faces mounting pressure to enhance enforcement strategies and close the growing revenue gap.
