The Hindu 20.11.2013
Revenue officials pulled up for poor tax collection
Only half the target fixed for Bommanahalli zone met
The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) revenue officials of Bommanahalli zone were at the receiving end of Commissioner M. Lakshminarayan’s ire at a grievances meeting on Tuesday, for failing to meet the property tax target.
According to a press release here, though the target for tax collection in this zone was set at Rs. 210 crore, in the past eight months, only Rs. 106 crore was collected.
The commissioner lambasted the officials for the “shameful” progress and their “lack of commitment”, and directed them, as a “last warning”, to collect the remaining amount by December 6.
“Officials have not contributed to the Rs. 106 crore that has been collected so far. It is the citizens alone who have to be credited for paying tax under the self-assessment scheme. Though there is a list of tax defaulters, the officials have failed to recover dues from them,” he said.
He directed them to cut the power supply to properties of tax defaulters in a bid to recover dues from them.
Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana claimed the BBMP could collect Rs. 1,000 crore just from three zones — Mahadevapura, Bommanahalli and Rajarajeshwarinagar.
The BBMP would conduct public grievances meetings in these newly added areas, he added.
He criticised the officials for their “lackadaisical attitude”. “If officials show no interest in collecting tax, how can the BBMP take up development works in the city?”
Satish Reddy, Bommanahalli MLA, pointed out that there are several apartments in the zone.
He said that the BBMP officials had not only failed to collect tax but also to collect development charges from the apartment owners. The officials were hand-in-glove with the builders, he alleged.
Mr. Reddy demanded that revenue officials working in the same office for more than two years be transferred immediately.
M.S. Shivaprasad, chairperson of BBMP’s Standing Committee for Taxation and Finance, cautioned officials and said: “Draw up an action plan and time table, besides reviewing the tax declared by big defaulters.”
