The Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) has extended the recovery period for property tax for ten more days though the financial year ended on March 31.

The civic body has decreased the target of the property tax department from Rs 42 crore, which was set in the annual budget of 2013-14, to Rs 36 crore as it was struggling to meet its target. The revised target is lesser than the department's collection in the last fiscal- Rs 37 crore.

Property tax is one of the main sources of revenue for the municipal corporation. The property tax department handles billing and collection of tax on residential and commercial plots and other types of properties held privately or by governments (state and Union) within KMC limits.

Head of the property tax department Dilip Koli said, "Most of the employees from our department have been assigned election duties. So the targets for property tax recovery have not been met. However, higher authorities have directed us to complete the recovery process in the next ten days."

On the last day of the financial year, the KMC earnings stood at Rs 92 crore from local body tax (LBT) as against a target of Rs 90 crore. The town planning department has crossed its target of Rs 29 crore as it has raked in Rs 32 crore.

Tax recovery from other departments has also not been good. The KMC has raked in Rs 36 crore from water supply taxes as against a target of Rs 40 crore. However, the accounts department is yet to get recovery details of the licence and estate departments.

KMC chief accountant Sanjay Sarnaik said, "We cannot come to a conclusion about meeting revenue targets as we are yet to get supplementary deposits of the estate and licence department. We hope these departments have achieved their target. Also, since the property tax department is lagging behind in terms of recovery, we are not sure about the meeting of targets."

However, going by details obtained as on March 31 for LBT, property tax, water supply and town planning, the civic administration has raked in Rs 192 crore. Though the KMC administration has failed to meet the revenue targets on the last day of the financial year, the civic officials hopes that it may achieve the set target in the first of April.