Chandigarh admn chasing common man as govt properties evade ₹250-cr tax

Even as the UT administration has imposed a steep hike in property tax for residential and commercial properties—putting an additional burden on city residents—government and autonomous institutions in Chandigarh continue to brazenly default on property tax payments to the municipal corporation (MC).

These defaulters collectively owe a staggering ₹250 crore in tax dues, a significant chunk of the civic body’s revenue.

In a controversial move, the UT administration, while approving a three-fold hike in residential property tax and doubling commercial property tax from April 1, has exempted government-owned buildings from the increased rates—sparking sharp criticism from taxpayers and Opposition leaders alike.

Despite repeated reminders, reconciliation meetings and follow-ups, the dues remain largely unpaid from the government and autonomous institutions. What’s more, ₹187 crore of this amount is caught in litigation or disputes, delaying recovery further.

Over 650 government buildings—including those belonging to the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and central governments—are on the defaulters’ list, along with institutions under the UT administration itself. Autonomous institutes like the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Panjab University (PU) and Punjab Engineering College (PEC) alone owe ₹123.13 crore.

PGIMER had requested a reconciliation survey of its properties, after which MC asked it to pay ₹12 crore. However, the institute has only deposited ₹1.5 crore so far.

PEC has paid ₹2 crore and is also seeking a reassessment of dues. PU, on the other hand, has not made any payment yet. MC had initially asked the varsity to pay ₹29 crore from the total outstanding amount.

“MC is already taking legal support to recover the arrears. Several meetings have been held with the defaulters. We will be initiating further legal action,” said MC officials.

As part of its recovery strategy, MC has already issued property attachment notices to three institutions and has asked them to declare their movable and immovable assets. If dues are not cleared, the civic body is planning to seal their properties.

Admn’s inefficiency making people suffer: Congress

Hitting out against the UT administration, Congress president HS Lucky said, “Exempting government buildings from the tax hike exposes the administration’s double standards. Instead of burdening residents, the administration should have ensured that all pending dues from government buildings were cleared to help MC function smoothly. It’s the government’s inefficiency that’s making people suffer.”

Meanwhile, BJP-led mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla said, “We are actively pursuing recovery of all pending dues and have consistently urged the administration to reconsider the property tax hike on residents. The administration is also open to re-examining the decision. Meanwhile, we are making every effort to secure a special grant from the Centre to support the financially strained MC.”

MC collects ₹1 crore in first 5 days of new fiscal

Property tax was introduced in 2004 for commercial and institutional buildings and extended to residential properties in 2015. According to the new notification, residential tax has been hiked from 3% to 9% of the Annual Rateable Value (ARV), while commercial and industrial property tax has risen from 3% to 6%.

Chandigarh currently has 31,000 commercial and 1,08,500 residential properties, contributing around ₹45 crore annually. With the new hike, the MC expects an additional ₹54 crore, potentially generating ₹72 crore from commercial and ₹27 crore from residential properties.

Following the hike, during the first five days of the 2025–26 tax cycle, MC has already collected ₹1 crore under the early rebate period, which offers a 20% discount for residential and 10% for commercial properties till May 31. After that, a 25% penalty and 12% annual interest will be levied on delayed payments.