Bhubaneswar: Repeated warnings to dodgers has paid off for the civic body as it collected a whopping Rs 18 crore in holding tax in March.

The civic body's total collection for the 2017-18 fiscal has reached Rs 41.7 crore, a marked increase from the Rs 37 crore it had collected in 2016-17 and Rs 21.54 crore in 2015-16.

According to the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation's monthly revenue statement, it's holding tax collection has steadily increased this year. It had collected Rs 1.45 crore in January and Rs 6 crore in February.

"We took every step to increase holding tax collection and finally succeeded," said a civic official.

The housing and urban development department and chief secretary A.P. Padhi had slammed the civic body three times in the past few months for low collection of revenue, mainly from holding tax. "It is the result of repeated warnings," said the official.

Following the criticism, the civic body had slapped red notices on 284 major holding tax defaulters in January and asked them to pay the dues or face action.

"We filed certificate cases against defaulters and started attaching their property according to law and accordingly collected the dues. This impacted other petty defaulters who have started paying their dues voluntarily. They need to understand that the money will only be spent for their benefit," said another official.

Mayor Ananata Narayan Jena said: "We are happy with the collection status and will take further steps to strengthen collection of holding and other tax in the coming years."