In a small Mansa nagar panchayat, 6-fold jump in tax collection; set to rise further by March

From April 1-December 15 this financial year, Sardulgarh collected Rs 92 lakh as property tax and rent of panchayat's properties which is nearly six time of what the panchayat collected during the corresponding period in 2021-22

SDM Poonam Singh oversees the project of beautification of a park in Sardulgarh Nagar Panchayat. (Express Photo)

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Revenue authorities seem to be having less taxing times in Sardulgarh, a small nagar panchayat in Mansa district of Punjab.

The nagar panchayat is the talk of the town for its record tax collection.

From April 1-December 15 this financial year, Sardulgarh collected Rs 92 lakh as property tax and rent of panchayat’s properties which is nearly six time of what the panchayat collected during the corresponding period in 2021-22.

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The tax collection in 2021-22 was Rs 22.94 lakh, while it is already Rs 92 lakh till December 15 of 2022-23. The revenue collection is set to rise further, with still more than three months to go for the current financial year to end.

The revenue collection from April 1-December 15 was only Rs 15 lakh in 2021-22, said SDM Poonam Singh.

Sardulgarh constituency is predominantly a rural region with about 70 villages, out of which the town area is a nagar panchayat with a population of about 25,000. The total population of the constituency is more than 95,000.

Poonam Singh, Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) Sardulgarh-cum-administrator of the nagar panchayat, while talking to the Indian Express said, “We regularly followed up with people in residential and commercial areas and reminded them to pay property tax on a regular basis, and the response was tremendous. This is the highest tax collection so far. This nagar panchayat was formed in 1996. The highest tax collection in the past was Rs 57 lakh in 2016-17. In 2020-21 the tax collection was Rs 32.84 lakh. I appreciate the attitude of the people. They are voluntarily paying taxes and this amount is going to be used for their town’s development works.”

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There are around 100 shops on lease in the nagar panchayat. Many of these shops had not been paying rent for the past few years. The panchayat collected rent from most of these shops this year, sources said.

“If tax collection is satisfactory, we can spend it on development works. At present, we are using the money on two open gyms, beautification of a public park and to improve water supply services, among others. We intend to clear legacy waste by 100% in the coming months. The works are in progress,” Poonam Singh added.

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