Stepping up a campaign to increase the collection of revenues from citizens, the cash-strapped Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) is sending repeated reminders to defaulters on their registered mobile numbers.
The messages, which include details of their bills and outstanding amounts, respectfully ask those who owe property taxes, water cess, and other amounts to the BMC to clear their dues by the stipulated dates to avoid penalties and inconvenience.
The BMC requires citizens to pay their dues on time, as the civic body claims to spend the money on maintaining citizen services and amenities. Residents, however, refute this contention, alleging favouritism and partisan behaviour by BMC officials and workers.
Recently, a group of residents in Koh-e-Fiza pooled resources and financed the repair of the road outside their houses after repeated requests to the civic body fell on deaf ears.
Large parts of the neighbourhood, one of the toniest addresses in the old city, remain submerged in darkness due to faulty streetlights, which have become the biggest grievance against the municipal corporation in the area.
Residents say that the mongrel menace persists despite complaints to municipal authorities. The situation is especially bad on the road that connects the BMC swimming pool to Ahmedabad Palace Road.
They question the authority of the BMC for charging high taxes in the area despite the visible breakdown in municipal services provided.
Municipal officials state that the taxes charged in a particular area are commensurate with land and rental values. They point to the ongoing road building and repair activities on Ahmedabad Palace Road to counter the claims made by residents.
Only recently, Mayor Malti Rai visited the area and performed the groundbreaking for several road repair and construction projects.
Meanwhile, the BMC has issued seizure notices to house owners in several of the city's neighbourhoods after they failed to clear municipal dues.
According to a communiqué released to the media on Wednesday, seizure notices have been issued to six property owners in Ward 26 of Zone 21.
A similar notice was also issued against one property in Ward 41 under Zone 11. The defaulting homeowners owe municipal amounts ranging from Rs 100,000 to Rs 550,000.
The municipal revenue collection drive traditionally picks up in the months leading to the balancing of its half-yearly and annual accounts in October and March each year.
To give the civic body its due, the revenue campaign suffers significant setbacks as a large number of immensely valuable properties in the old city are either in adverse possession of tenants or caught in legal disputes that can last for decades before a settlement is reached.
As per provisions, the municipal corporation can only charge taxes from bona fide property owners within the municipal precincts of the city.
In light of the revenue losses suffered by civic bodies across Madhya Pradesh, the state government has been mulling amendments to tenancy laws for decades. The move, however, is yet to conclude.