Patna: Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) has outsourced property tax collection to a private company Sparrow Softech Pvt Ltd, whose employees will go door-to-door from December 15.

Residents can pay property tax by cash, card, cheque or demand draft from their homes, or visit a nearby Nagarik Suvidha Kendra. Resident can also pay online at www.patnamunicipal.net.

The private agency's employees are to provide a hard copy of tax-paid the receipt to the residents at their doorsteps even if they have paid the tax online.

The PMC launched the outsourced services on Thursday at a function where deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, urban development and housing minister Suresh Kumar Sharma, urban development and housing department principal secretary Chaitanya Prasad, Patna mayor Sita Sahu and PMC commissioner Abhishek Singh were among the guests.

At the website, which is maintained by Sparrow Softech, residents can also search property related details by using their property's process identification number (PID).

The agency is also supposed to conduct a survey to zero in on defaulters and ensure that the tax is collected.

Deputy chief minister Modi launched the outsourced service by depositing his property tax for 2017-18 online through the website. Sources, however, said the website developed glitches on the inaugural day.

PMC sources said the outsourcing is aimed at increasing property tax collection. Earlier it was Rs 44 crore every year, but the agency is supposed to collect a minimum of Rs 7.5 crore per month. Else, a penalty of 20 per cent will be imposed on it and its payment would be held up.

Modi warned that strict action would be taken against property tax defaulters. "There arenorms for seizing of one's property in case one fails to deposit the tax," he said.

Nand Kishore told the agency officials to visit houses early morning and go repeatedly to defaulters' homes.