Who are major holding tax defaulters in Bhubaneswar? Why is there no data?

Six months have passed since the Mayor's statement, yet the list of major holding tax defaulters has not been uploaded on the official website. The public is raising questions about whether the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is under pressure regarding the publication of the defaulter list. The Mayor has stated that notices are being sent to the defaulters, and once they fail to pay the dues, the list will be made public.

Where has the list of defaulters gone? Why is the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation not disclosing the names of those who owe holding tax? Despite six months passing since the Mayor’s assurance, the names of major defaulters have not been made public.

Initially, on the night of March 11, BMC’s Instagram handle published the names of 45 major defaulters who had not paid their holding tax. A screenshot of the post was even shared in BMC’s media WhatsApp group. However, surprisingly, the Instagram post was removed the next day, on March 12.

During a press meet on March 12, Mayor Sulochana Das admitted BMC’s mistake and stated that the information in the list was from a week ago. It was an error on BMC’s part and the correct list would be uploaded soon. However, the revised list of defaulters has not been made public till date.

"We had disclosed the names of all the big defaulters on the website. They have paid some amount and promised to clear the rest within 8-10 days. We will prepare another updated list today. The list disclosed yesterday was made by mistake, and it was from last week. We will upload the latest updated list today," said BMC Mayor Sulochana Das.

In the list of major defaulters of BMC, as many as 16 individuals have been identified in the category of defaulters with dues exceeding Rs 1 crore. Additionally, 15 people feature in the category of holding tax defaulters, with dues ranging from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore.

For the financial year 2024-25, BMC had set a target of collecting Rs 100 crore in holding tax but has failed to even collect half of the amount so far. Despite six months having passed, the defaulters' list has not yet been uploaded on the official website.

Must Read: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation uploads, then deletes holding tax defaulter list; action sparks controversy

Mayor Sulochana Das stated on Tuesday that notices are now being sent to each defaulter, and following this, the complete list will be uploaded.

"It is not right to disclose the list suddenly. We have already prepared a list and issued notices to the people. If they don't give the payment in time, we will disclose the names of the big defaulters on the website," said BMC Mayor Sulochana Das.

"BMC had announced to disclose the names of the people, with address and mobile number, who are unable to pay the tax. However, it has not been executed so far. Crores of rupees in the form of taxes have not been collected so far," said a senior citizen.