Nashik Municipal Corporation Intensifies Property Tax Recovery Drive
The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has announced a significant escalation in its property tax recovery efforts as it strives to achieve the collection target for the financial year 2025-26. Starting next week, the civic body will begin issuing fresh notices to property owners who failed to clear their outstanding dues despite a four-month amnesty scheme that was operational between September and December 2025.
Collection Targets and Current Shortfall
NMC has set an ambitious property tax collection target of Rs 275 crore for the current financial year. However, as of January 22, the civic body had managed to collect only Rs 212 crore, leaving a substantial shortfall of Rs 63 crore that must be recovered within the remaining two months of the fiscal year. This performance is slightly lower compared to the same period last year, when NMC had collected Rs 215 crore by January 22, making this year's collection Rs 3 crore less.
Impact of Election Duties on Recovery
According to civic officials, the primary reason for the slower recovery rate has been the deployment of a large number of NMC personnel on election duties over the past three months. With the civic elections now completed, the administration has shifted its focus to implementing intensive measures to boost recovery in the final stretch of the financial year. Officials have directed zonal teams to expedite visits to properties with pending dues and initiate recovery proceedings where necessary.
Amnesty Scheme Outcomes and Backlog
Under the amnesty scheme that ran from September to December 2025, the civic body collected Rs 66 crore from defaulters by offering penalty waivers between 85% and 95% to those who cleared their dues in full. Approximately 86,000 defaulters benefited from this scheme, availing rebates amounting to Rs 22 crore. This initiative helped raise NMC's total property tax revenue to Rs 208 crore by the end of December.
However, the recovery momentum slowed significantly in January, with only Rs 4 crore collected between January 1 and 22. This decline has prompted the administration to tighten its collection mechanisms. For the 2025-26 financial year, NMC's total property tax demand stands at Rs 275 crore, but the accumulated backlog of outstanding dues from defaulters over the past five to six years has reached nearly Rs 500 crore. The administration is now focusing on recovering as much of this outstanding amount as possible, in addition to achieving the current year's target.
Future Recovery Strategies
In response to the slowing recovery, NMC officials have outlined a series of intensified measures to be implemented in the coming weeks. These include:
- Intensified field action by zonal teams to visit properties with pending dues.
- Issuance of fresh notices to chronic defaulters who did not avail the amnesty scheme.
- Stricter follow-ups and recovery proceedings to ensure compliance.
The civic body is determined to bridge the Rs 63 crore gap and meet its annual target, while also addressing the substantial backlog of unpaid taxes that has accumulated over the years.
