Corporation to auction properties having pending property tax

Properties to be auctioned off through public auction

Aurangabad, Dec 4:

Following the Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur municipal corporation, the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) will now be able to auction off the properties of the citizens not paying the property tax. The corporation will have the right to confiscate the property and auction it through a public auction.

Around 70 per cent of citizens do not pay property tax. As the corporation had no legal right to take action against the defaulters, the debts grew to Rs 600 crore. Administrator Astik Kumar Pandey has started taking concrete steps to improve the financial condition of the AMC. The corporation has approved the rules and regulations giving approval to the sale of the property under the Municipal Corporation Act, section 466, sub section (1) clause (B). A resolution in this regard was passed on December 1. As per the regulations, a list of the properties confiscated for recovery of arrears of property tax will be prepared and approved by the administrator. An advertisement will then be published in the newspapers. Ownership of the property sold by auction will be subject to government regulations.

At least two bidders needed

At least two bidders will have to be present on the day of auction. If there are no bidders, the auction will be cancelled. The bids made through a sealed envelope will also be counted as final bids. A video of the auction process will be made and preserved for a year. The property transfer process will be implemented after the auction. The method of determining the base price was also decided. Rules have also been laid down for the distribution of the amount received from the auction.

All issues were studied very carefully

Over the last few months, the process of confiscation in various municipal corporations in the state were studied. All legal issues and regulations were also studied very carefully. With the new regulations in place, it will be easier to confiscate and auction properties having unpaid taxes. It will also increase the revenue collection, said Aparna Thethe, municipal deputy commissioner.