PUNE | September 9, 2026 — A proposal to give Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials greater authority to correct property-tax records and write off unrecoverable arrears is set to come up for discussion before the civic body’s standing committee, prompting Opposition Leader Nilesh Nikam to allege that the move could weaken financial oversight and cause substantial revenue loss.
The PMC administration has submitted the proposal to the standing committee. According to the report, it seeks authority under Section 485 of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act to correct duplicate entries, typographical errors and minor administrative mistakes in property-tax records. It also seeks to transfer authority under Section 152 to write off property-tax arrears that cannot be recovered.
Nikam alleged that the proposal was introduced by Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishor Ram and could result in the standing committee’s powers being shifted to the administration. He said the transfer could allow arrears worth crores of rupees to be written off without prior approval from the committee.
The Opposition Leader said PMC officials already possess authority under Section 485 to correct errors in notices, bills and property-tax records, including typographical and minor administrative mistakes. However, he argued that the authority to write off unrecoverable arrears under Section 152 rests exclusively with the standing committee.
“Without the prior approval of the standing committee, even one rupee of arrears cannot be written off,” Nikam said, according to the report. He urged the committee not to hand over its powers to the civic administration.
Nikam further alleged that if the proposal is approved, future property-tax write-off matters may no longer be placed before the standing committee for formal approval. Instead, he said, they could be brought only for information or observation, reducing the committee’s direct role in decisions affecting municipal revenue.
The proposal is linked to discrepancies in PMC property-tax records, including duplicate entries and administrative errors, as well as arrears classified as unrecoverable. The report did not specify the total value of arrears that could be affected, the number of properties involved or the eligibility process that the administration would follow for any write-offs.
The standing committee was scheduled to discuss the proposal at its meeting on September 9. The committee’s decision and any amendments to the administration’s proposal were not stated in the report.
