Bhopal School Property Tax Fraud: Area Slashed in System, Revenue Loss ₹6.62 Lakh

A property tax fraud scheme has been uncovered at Bhopal Municipal Corporation involving a private school in Idgah Hills. The school's recorded area was allegedly changed from 34,872 sq ft to 5,856 sq ft on March 31 using a zonal officer's user ID, reducing the tax demand from ₹7.71 lakh to ₹1.09 lakh. The property was listed as zero for solid waste management charges and trade licence fees during the same manipulation.

The irregularity was detected in April when a zonal officer noticed the receipt amount was suspiciously low. A technical investigation found the Zone-2 officer's password was changed on March 31 at 3:21 pm. BMC officials suspect similar manipulation may have affected multiple properties across the city, with potential losses running into crores of rupees.

Kohefiza police have registered a case of forgery and fraud against unknown persons. The original demand comprised ₹4,49,870 in property tax, ₹2,71,311 towards solid waste management and surcharge, and ₹50,000 as trade licence fee and surcharge.