MUMBAI: The BMC has reached out to two major state agencies—the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada)—regarding pending property tax dues exceeding Rs 2,287 crore, urging immediate payment.
In correspondence dated March 16, just prior to the financial year-end, the BMC emphasized that property tax is its main source of revenue, essential for urban services and infrastructure development across Mumbai.
According to BMC records from January 31, MMRDA owes Rs 1,685.6 crore across 128 properties, which includes Rs 946.2 crore in unpaid taxes and Rs 739.4 crore in penalties. Mhada, on the other hand, has dues amounting to Rs 601.6 crore from 3,636 properties, including Rs 222.5 crore in penalties. “Given the significant outstanding sums, directives should be issued for immediate payment of these dues,” the BMC stated in its letters.
Officials from the property tax department indicated that the majority of MMRDA’s dues arise from unpaid taxes related to its casting yards and Metro stations. In contrast, Mhada’s outstanding amount is primarily connected to its owned properties, such as BDD chawls.
Additional municipal commissioner Ashwini Joshi, who oversees the civic property tax department and dispatched the letters, noted that the BMC is actively working to recover property tax dues from various departments. “We’ve communicated with both agencies. Our property tax collection this year (Rs 6,331 crore) has already surpassed last year’s total of Rs 6,200 crore,” she stated.
Property tax constitutes BMC’s largest revenue stream, applicable to over 900,000 properties. The dependency on this revenue source has intensified since 2017, when octroi was eliminated as part of the GST implementation. With collections already exceeding last year’s figures, officials aim to intensify efforts to recover long-due payments to further stabilize BMC’s finances.
Currently, approximately 360,000 properties in Mumbai are exempt from property tax due to their carpet area being under 500 sqft, a policy enacted by BMC in 2022 following a state government directive. The civic House has also recently proposed raising the exemption limit for residential units from 500 sqft to 700 sqft.
