The Hindu        27.03.2017  

Soon, your property will have a 10-digit geo-referenced number

It will replace the existing PIDs; it can effectively act as your address too

By this year-end, your property will have a 10-digit unique number. This unique number, which will be geo-referenced with the latitude and longitude information of the property, can effectively act as your address too. This number will replace your existing Property Identification (PID) number, which is not geo-referenced.

The civic body will start issuing these unique numbers soon after its GIS-enabled Property Tax Information System is mounted on the Bhuvan platform of Indian Space Research Organisation, work on which will begin from April 1, said M.K. Gunashekhar, chairman, standing committee on taxation and finance, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. The BBMP’s budget had a mention of the project.

Unscientific numbering

The PID system is in a mess owing to unscientific numbering being followed, said a senior BBMP official. The PID system includes the ward number, street number and door number of the property, all of which can often change. Ward delimitation exercise will render all existing PIDs erroneous, leading to issuing of new PIDs.

There are already two sets of PIDs — those issued before and after 2008, when the BBMP was formed. Moreover, the PID database is unlinked to the GIS database, khata, plan sanction, Bescom or BWSSB databases.

Assigning new numbers was recommended by the BBMP Restructuring Committee. The 10-digit system will give scope for assigning numbers to 100 lakh properties, a far cry from today’s estimated 25 lakh properties in the city.

“In Singapore, the geo-referenced unique property number acts as your address. For instance, you can provide the number of your destination to a cab driver who will track it on the map. The unique number can enable this in Bengaluru too,” said V. Ravichandar, member of the committee.

The 10-digit system will be error-proof and the system would not accept a wrong PID which may lead to tax payment to another account. The 10th digit will be derived through an algorithm applied on the first nine digits. Thus a wrong number in the 10th digit, will immediately flag an error, sources said.

Tax compliance

A geo-referenced PID that is integrated with other datasets of the properties such as ownership and encumbarance documents, khata, plan approval, tax receipts, utility services, is expected to lead to increased tax compliance in the city, said Mr. Ravichandar.

The recent GIS mapping has recognised around 19 lakh properties, of which only 16 lakh to 17 lakh properties have been in the tax net, indicating that the city has not been leveraging its potential tax base.

“Technology will help us cross-verify self-assessment by property owners and detect under-reporting,” Mr. Gunashekhar said.