NMC is owed Rs 1,919 crore in unpaid property tax by 4.54 lakh defaulting properties, a sum that equals nearly one-third of the city’s entire proposed budget of Rs 5,857 crore of year 2026-27. Properties unpaid for 11 to 25 years account for the largest chunk at Rs 1,227 crore. Those delinquent for six to ten years owe Rs 473 crore, and two to five year defaulters add Rs 169 crore. Even within the past year, Rs 29 crore has gone uncollected. At the far end, properties that have not paid for over 25 years still owe Rs 18.81 crore. Breaking it down by category, open plots carry the highest dues at Rs 414 crore, followed by properties with no Geographic Information System (GIS) records at Rs 352 crore and residential properties at Rs 341 crore. Disputed properties owe Rs 313 crore, while State Government properties, which should lead by example, account for Rs 227 crore. Non-residential properties owe Rs 103 crore, with mixed use buildings and towers adding over Rs 150 crore.

 

Over 3.21 lakh properties each owe less than Rs 25,000, together totalling Rs 256 crore, and these are the ones enforcement teams most frequently target. Meanwhile, just 1,583 properties each owe more than Rs 5 lakh, and together account for Rs 833 crore, nearly half the total dues, with far less scrutiny. NMC records also show that 28,398 properties have never paid property tax even once, racking up Rs 259.48 crore in dues. Experts say, the corporation tends to go after smaller, easier targets while larger, long-standing defaulters are rarely held accountable, a gap in enforcement that has allowed the crisis to grow year after year. Until the NMC takes on its defaulters firmly, the Rs 1,919 crore gap will remain, money that could otherwise go toward roads, drainage, and basic city services.

 

As per NMC officials, the property tax rates have remained static for the last 15 years, whereas as per rules, the same needs to be realised every 5 years. But lack of political will and please-all policy means the civic body continues to miss on much-needed additional income, that could come handy to fund infrastructure projects. Further, the ballooning salary bills and continuous gap in the funding from State Government resulting in the rising default of property tax puts the civic body in tight spot.