Pune Residents Breathe a Sigh of Relief as Property Tax Hike Proposal Rejected

Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has brought some good news for the residents of Pune civic limits. The PMC's General Body (GB) unanimously dismissed the proposal to hike property tax by 5% from the next fiscal year. This decision comes as a relief to many who were concerned about the additional financial burden.

The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) is also unlikely to increase property tax for the 2026-27 financial year. The reason? The absence of a standing committee, which is a mandatory step before any tax hike proposal can be approved. In Pune civic limits, the administration had tabled the 5% tax hike proposal before the GB last week. However, corporators across party lines rejected it, urging the civic administration to focus on improving tax recovery and bringing more properties under the tax net.

Leader of the House Ganesh Bidkar explained that the proposal was dismissed with the intention of not burdening diligent taxpayers. He emphasized that the civic administration would need to explore alternative measures to increase earnings through property tax. The opposition parties, including the NCP, Congress, and Shiv Sena (UBT), supported the rejection of the property tax hike proposal. The BJP had also decided to dismiss the proposed hike during the meeting of corporators before the GB.

Nilesh Nikam, the Leader of the Opposition, pointed out that many properties were still out of the property tax ambit, and the recovery process was not efficient. He suggested the need to appoint more employees to improve the overall functioning of the property tax department. Many corporators highlighted the issues residents face in resolving tax assessment problems. They demanded that the administration clear all pending cases related to property tax.

Senior corporators Varsha Tapkir and Sachin Dodke noted that the uncooperative attitude of employees involved in property tax-related work has led to significant pendency. Arvind Shinde of the Congress claimed that the property tax hike was dismissed following the intervention of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

In Pimpri Chinchwad, the civic body last revised property tax in 2013-14. A senior PCMC official stated that, according to norms, any proposal to revise property tax must be submitted to the standing committee before February 20. However, given the current situation, it is unlikely that the standing committee will be formed before the deadline. Consequently, the PCMC's annual budget is expected to be placed directly before the GB for approval due to the delay in forming the standing committee. Over the past four years, the municipal commissioner has presented and cleared the budget while functioning as the administrator in the absence of an elected body.