Bengaluru: As soon as the Greater Bengaluru Authority’s South city corporation announced an auction of defaulters’ properties, around 14 property owners in Bommanahalli rushed to clear their long-pending dues, resulting in the recovery of over Rs 27 lakh.The fear of properties being sold through public auction appears to be prompting defaulters to settle arrears even before their properties are taken up for bidding. This development comes after seven properties were successfully sold in a recent auction conducted by the East and North city corporations.All five city corporations are proceeding with the auction of top tax defaulters as a last resort to recover pending taxes. This was the fourth auction this month, held in multiple locations, and GBA officials intend to continue with the auctioning of defaulter properties.According to KN Ramesh, commissioner of South city corporation, the civic body had identified 50 residential and non-residential properties with total outstanding dues amounting to almost Rs 1.1 crore. Proclamation orders were served to all listed properties, and the auction was scheduled between 11am and 1.30pm on Friday.Before the auction commenced, 14 property owners cleared their dues through challan and online payments. The commissioner directed the assistant revenue officers to issue official endorsements formally removing these properties from the auction list.However, the remaining 36 defaulters did not clear their dues. Though the auction was formally called, no bidders came forward to pay the required deposit or place bids, leaving the process inconclusive. The commissioner said preparations are under way to conduct a re-auction of the remaining properties in the coming days.
