Gaya: The Gaya Municipal Corporation is under acute financial strain because of poor holding-tax collection, leaks, faulty assessment and ever-increasing establishment cost.

Sources said incidents of collectors pocketing money collected from non-holding sources like the Bhusunda cattle fair in town have been reported in the past but in the absence of effective deterrents, the practice continues.

Apart from holding tax collection, the municipal body earns revenue from the Kedarnath Market auction, cattle fair, private bus stands, auto stands and parking slots, and share in land registration receipts among other avenues.

Against an estimated revenue of Rs 13 crore for the 2017-18 fiscal, actual revenue collected was Rs 8.31 crore. Such inadequate revenue collection, sources in the civic body said, set off alarm bells ringing in official circles, including the urban development department.

Lalji Prasad, former member of the municipal corporation's standing committee, said: "The number of unregistered holdings in the corporation area is not less than 10,000. These holdings have been there for decades but little has been done to bring them under the tax net.

"Without paying tax, owners of these holdings enjoy services like door-to-door waste collection, sweeping of streets and tap water connection," added the former standing committee member.

Mayor Birendra Kumar said paucity of tax collectors and rampant corruption have almost bled the municipal corporation out.

The civic body is now considering a proposal to outsource revenue collection. For that, the municipal corporation has to first shortlist and then finalise an agency to outsource the work of revenue collection to.

Birendra said a final decision is yet to be taken on outsourcing the tax collection work, but he said that it is likely to be rolled out in a couple of months.

Asked about possible action to be taken against revenue employees, who allegedly pocket the cash collected by them, mayor Birendra said salaries of the defaulting employees have been withheld.

"Pocketing government money is a criminal act and as such, criminal case must be instituted against such employees," said local activist S.B. Bhaskar. "Stopping their salaries is no punishment."