Property tax collection of BCC rises to Rs 70.8cr, but target remains elusive

Belagavi: The Belagavi City Corporation (BCC) collected Rs 70.8 crore in property tax for the financial year 2025-26, registering a marginal increase of Rs 1.3 crore compared to Rs 69.5 crore collected in 2024-25.Despite the slight improvement, the civic body once again fell short of its recovery target. The revenue department set a target of Rs 78 crore for the current year, along with an additional Rs 11.4 crore carried forward from the previous fiscal. This took the total recovery target to Rs 89.4 crore, which remained unmet.Officials, including city corporation commissioner Kartik M and revenue deputy commissioner Sidhu Hulloli, made repeated efforts to accelerate collections. Several review meetings were held, individual targets were assigned to revenue staff, and show-cause notices were issued to those achieving less than 80% of their targets. However, officials cited multiple administrative responsibilities as a key reason for the shortfall.Revenue staff were heavily engaged in election-related duties, voter list verification, surveys and census work throughout the year, limiting their ability to focus fully on tax recovery efforts.Looking ahead, the challenge is expected to intensify. For 2026-27, the corporation set a base target of Rs 85 crore for house tax collection. With over Rs 7 crore in pending dues from 2025-26 added to this, the total target is projected to exceed Rs 92 crore, significantly increasing pressure on the revenue department.Compounding the issue, the first phase of the national census is already underway, which will again require the involvement of revenue personnel. Officials fear that balancing recovery targets with additional administrative duties may continue to strain staff capacity.