Kalaburagi dist posts record 89.8% property tax recovery

Kalaburagi: Kalaburagi district has drawn attention after recording a historic surge in property tax collection, achieving 89.8% recovery — the highest at the district level.Traditionally, gram panchayats in the district collected Rs 10–15 crore annually. Collections rose sharply over the last two years, touching Rs 25.8 crore in 2024-25 and Rs 33.4 crore as of March 31, 2025-26.Of the 261 gram panchayats in the district, 71 achieved 100% property tax collection, while more than 90 crossed the 90% mark. Officials said this was the highest recovery recorded in the last nine years. In earlier years, there were complaints of lax collection, but a strict push by zilla panchayat CEO Bhanwar Singh Meena changed the trend.Authorities suspended some PDOs and withheld pay increments of 18 PDOs for failing to engage with residents. Following this, officials carried out doorstep collections. It is known that 90% of residents pay property tax without dispute when the gram panchayat staff visit their homes.No taluk in the district was declared drought-prone this year, even as separate emergency funds were unavailable and the 15th Finance Commission grants had yet to be released. Officials said improved tax collection would support local development works under these conditions.The district collected Rs 7.7 crore in property tax from sugar and cement factories this year. Major contributors included Shree Cement (Rs 2.6 crore), Ultratech Cement (Rs 1.4 crore), Adani Cement (Rs 1 crore), KPR Sugar (Rs 82.1 lakh), Chettinad Cement (Rs 70.5 lakh), Sagar Cement (Rs 37.6 lakh), NSL Sugar (Rs 31 lakh), Renuka Sugar (Rs 19 lakh), Ugar Sugars (Rs 17 lakh) and Clean Maps Solar (Rs 9 lakh). By the end of Feb, collections stood at Rs 24.5 crore.The district ranked 26th in the state for property tax recovery till Feb. Reforms introduced in March and increased field-level monitoring helped collect Rs 8.9 crore between March 1 and 31, lifting the district 10 places to 16th position.Speaking to TOI, Meena said, "Under the guidance of RDPR minister Priyank Kharge, the measures taken for tax collection have yielded good results. This time, nearly 90% of the tax has been collected, which will make the village panchayats financially stronger."