Women owners to get 50% property tax discount, promise of waiver for smaller properties remains unfulfilled

Pune: Owners of smaller properties, who were hoping for tax relief from the civic administration as per promises made by netas, have been left waiting longer. During the PMC budget announcement by its standing committee, no blanket tax waiver was announced for properties up to 500 sqft this time, unlike the policy in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had promised such a waiver in its manifesto during the recent civic elections. Now, however, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has offered only a 50% tax discount for small properties, and specifically only for those owned by women. Civic activists have termed this announcement as a betrayal of citizens."Parties had promised to give a blanket waiver. It would have helped many people. But the ruling party has betrayed the people. Only a handful will benefit. The party's promises appear to be hollow," said Vivek Velankar of citizens' group Sajag Nagrik Manch."We will offer more reliefs in days to come. The first step is to give a waiver to women property owners," said standing committee chairman Shrinath Bhimale, while speaking to reporters on Tuesday.As per PMC's budget data, around 14.92 lakh properties are under its jurisdiction. Owners of approximately 11.10 lakh properties have paid tax, worth Rs2,713.60 crore, as of Feb 19, 2026. PMC has a target to generate revenue of Rs3,250 crore till March 31, 2026.The budget document stated that an ‘Abhay Yojana' (amnesty scheme) will be launched for the recovery of penalty taxes on unauthorised constructions. Property owners will be incentivised through waivers on fines and interest. Lok Adalats will also be organised to resolve pending disputes. Special monthly camps will be held across 15 ward offices to sensitise people about tax collection and revenue generation. The focus will be on property registration, assessment, and clearing pending cases. The self-assessment facility will also be reintroduced, added the budget.Further, the civic administration will follow up with state govt to implement property tax assessment in newly merged areas in a phased manner, providing the necessary financial strength to develop basic amenities in those areas.The budget documents also state that PMC has yet to recover dues of around Rs4,770 crore from mobile towers.