MUMBAI, July 17 -- The civic administration has delivered on its resolve to bring commercial establishments in slums into the property tax net - collecting Rs.268.77crore in its first assessment and collection drive of such properties across Mumbai. After a survey conducted earlier this year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had listed 17,219 structures for payment of the tax. These establishments include shops, warehouses, eateries, small-scale workshops, factories etc. The maximum recovery is from the western suburbs, Rs.Rs 253.84 crore, followed by the island city at Rs.12.69 crore, and the eastern suburbs at Rs.2.24 crore. Overall, the total property tax due across Mumbai was Rs.473.42crore - well over the BMC's projected collection of Rs.350 crore for FY 2025-26. However, the actual collection stands at Rs.268.77crore, a shortfall of Rs.204.65. The BMC has also collected penalties amounting to Rs.140.26 crore from these establishments, for delayed payments. Municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani had said in his budget speech in February that commercial establishments in slums would have to start paying property tax as they benefit from infrastructure services provided by the BMC. Around 20% of the 250,000 slum tenements in Mumbai are commercial establishments, concentrated in the suburbs, said a civic official. A large number of them are fronts for big businesses and must be brought into the tax net, he said. According to the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, tax is to be levied on lands, buildings (both raw and concrete), and other properties within the civic body's jurisdiction. Although the civic body did not levy taxes on commercial establishments in slums until now, assessing and collecting property tax from them was necessary. The BMC has also set to rest concerns that taxing these commercial structures would legitimise them. The civic official said that under Section 152(A) of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act of 1888, "If any building or part of a building has been constructed or reconstructed illegally and tax or penalty has been levied on it by the administration, it does not mean that the said construction or reconstruction is legalised." But political leaders have criticised the move to tax commercial establishments in slums, saying the BMC should pursue big defaulters instead of burdening Mumbaikars who depend on such establishments for their livelihood. Ravi Raja, former corporator and former opposition leader in the BMC, claimed that poor slum residents, who run shops from their homes, will be hardest hit. He said slum residents were worst impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and are only just emerging from the crisis. "Bringing them into the property tax net now is wrong," Raja added. Asked how the move would impact slum residents, the civic official said, "Very few of these establishments actually cater to their livelihood. Many are godowns of big establishments and many have ancillary activities."...