When will BMC release revised list of holding tax defaulters?

Six days after Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Mayor Sulochana Das pledged to publish an updated list of holding tax defaulters, the revised document remains unreleased, sparking public suspicion over transparency.

The controversy began on March 11, 2025, when BMC uploaded a list of 31 major defaulters, out of which 16 owed over Rs 1 crore each and 15 with dues between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore, on its Instagram handle. Screenshots were then shared with media groups, prompting widespread coverage. However, the post was abruptly deleted by the BMC the next day.

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Conflicting Claims and Unanswered Questions

BMC Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Ajay Mohanty initially claimed the list was based on 'week-old data,' stating many defaulters had since cleared dues or made partial payments.

Mayor Das echoed this during a March 12 press conference, admitting that the list was outdated and citing 'errors' in its release. She assured a revised version would follow, but no update has been materialized so far.

Notably, the corporation aims to collect Rs 132 crore in holding tax this fiscal year but has secured only Rs 80 crore so far. The Mayor emphasized that institutions benefiting from civic services must clear dues; yet, BMC’s failure to disclose current defaulters undermines accountability.

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Transparency Under Scrutiny

Media reports highlighted discrepancies between BMC’s strict action against small businesses and its alleged leniency toward large defaulters.

While the original list included prominent educational institutions and corporate entities such as KIIT, SOA, Lifeline Multi Ventures Pvt. Ltd, Aditya Birla, and IBM, some names were subsequently removed from the defaulters’ list which the BMC later clarified that the entities had already made the payment by then, with officials also citing 'quarterly collection cycles' and year-end pressures as reasons for the initial inclusion of those establishments.