Bengaluru Municipal Body to Seize 51 Properties for Unpaid Property Tax Dues

The Bengaluru East City Corporation (BECC) has decided to take over 51 properties in the Mahadevapura and KR Puram zones of East Bengaluru due to unpaid property tax dues. This decision was made after the owners failed to clear their dues despite multiple notices and auction attempts, according to a statement from the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA).

According to the municipal body, Mahadevapura has 28 properties with over ₹52 lakh in property tax dues, while KR Puram has 21 properties. The move is initiated under the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act 2025 and related rules, following the civic body's exhaustion of all recovery measures, including show-cause notices, demand notices, and public auctions.

Property tax is a critical revenue stream for the civic infrastructure development, public welfare initiatives, and maintenance of urban services. Under the applicable framework, all property owners within the corporation's limits are required to pay property tax annually. Failing to do so can result in enforcement action under the Property Tax Assessment, Collection, and Management Rules 2024.

“In line with the provisions of the Act and Rules, show-cause notices and demand notices were issued to property tax defaulters, and sufficient time was provided for payment. Additionally, multiple reminders were sent through mobile messages to the property owners to clear their dues. Despite these efforts, some property owners have failed to pay the pending property tax,” the statement said.

Auctions of properties in both the Mahadevapura and KR Puram zones were conducted, where some defaulters settled their liabilities and retained ownership. However, 51 properties—28 in Mahadevapura and 23 in KR Puram—remained unresolved, with neither dues cleared nor successful auction outcomes.

The civic body has now issued a final opportunity to affected property owners. If the outstanding dues are cleared within one month from the date of notification, the properties will be restored to their owners. “Failing this, as per the Proclamation and Written Notice of Sale (Form-11) already issued, the corporation will take ownership of the properties based on the guideline value, deduct the outstanding tax amount, and deposit the remaining balance into the respective property owners’ bank accounts,” the statement said.

GBA officials emphasized the importance of timely payment of property tax to sustain urban infrastructure and service delivery. They urged property owners to comply to avoid enforcement action.

The Greater Bengaluru Authority had previously identified 81 properties in north Bengaluru for auction as of March 6 after their owners failed to clear pending property tax dues. The civic body’s commissioner, Pommala Sunil Kumar, had stated that the auction will be held after repeated notices were issued to property owners who failed to clear their outstanding taxes.

According to the GBA, 47 properties in Zone-1 had pending dues amounting to ₹1.32 crore, while 34 properties in Zone-2 collectively owed about ₹62.18 lakh. In total, property tax arrears of around ₹1.94 crore were pending from these properties. The civic body had stated that show-cause and demand notices had already been issued to the defaulters under the Property Tax Assessment, Collection, and Administration Rules 2024.

Earlier, the GBA auctioned seven properties across the East and North zones, attracting bids worth over ₹7 crore, as part of efforts to recover long-pending dues running into hundreds of crores, according to details shared by the civic authority. The municipal body said nearly 7,000 properties across the city have accumulated property tax arrears totaling ₹437 crore. Of the seven properties auctioned, two were within the North City Corporation limits, and five were within the East City Corporation.