India, Feb. 28 -- The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has, for the first time, served attachment notices to around 800 commercial establishments in slums across Mumbai in a bid to recover property taxes. A large proportion of these establishments - such as godowns, workshops, hotels and shops - are fronts for big businesses and the move will help bring them under the taxation net, said BMC officials. But political leaders slammed the move, saying the civic body should go after big defaulters instead of troubling poor Mumbaikars who depend on such establishments for their livelihood.

BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani had, in his budget speech on February 4, said that the civic body expects to earn Rs.350 crore in 2025-26 towards p...