Ulhasnagar: In a first-of-its-kind initiative to clean up its property tax database and improve revenue administration, the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) has identified nearly Rs 170 crore in outstanding property tax linked to non-existent or wrongly recorded properties under ‘Project Manthan’, a data-cleaning exercise launched by municipal commissioner Manisha Awhale.The project, being implemented by the property tax department under the supervision of in charge Neelam Kadam, seeks to eliminate inaccuracies from municipal records, remove duplicate entries, identify ghost properties and bring unassessed properties into the tax net.The exercise has been divided into three phases. The first phase covers properties with tax dues exceeding Rs 5 lakh, the second targets dues between Rs 50,000 and Rs 5 lakh, while the final phase will cover dues ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000. Officials said the survey began immediately after the March 31 property tax recovery season and was carried out entirely by UMC staff without hiring any external agency.During the first phase, civic officials identified 1,121 ghost properties with dues of Rs 116 crore, 114 duplicate property entries worth Rs 13 crore, 50 non-existent mobile tower assessments involving Rs 15.4 crore, and 163 demolished or collapsed properties that continued to reflect tax arrears of Rs 24.3 crore. Together, these categories accounted for nearly Rs 170 crore in unrealisable dues.Awhale said the objective of Project Manthan is not merely to delete incorrect records but to create a transparent and reliable property tax database. “A clean database will help us determine the corporation’s actual recoverable arrears, improve revenue planning and ensure that genuine taxpayers are not affected by inaccurate records,” she said.The civic body currently has recorded property tax arrears of Rs 996 crore, while its annual property tax collection stands at around Rs 112 crore. The identified ghost and duplicate properties will be placed before the Standing Committee for approval before being removed from the tax database.Property tax department in charge Neelam Kadam said the drive has also resulted in major administrative improvements. “For the first time, our own staff delivered property tax bills to nearly 1.5 lakh property holders, covering 82.29% of assessed properties. This saved the corporation around Rs 35 lakh and enabled us to update the addresses and mobile numbers of nearly 80% of property owners,” she said.Kadam added that the updated database will eventually allow UMC to send property tax bills through WhatsApp with digital payment links. Simultaneously, the department is verifying occupancy certificates issued by the town planning department to identify unassessed properties and bring them into the tax net, thereby strengthening the civic body’s future revenue base.
