To boost its revenues in a big way, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has hit upon a novel idea to collect property tax arrears from  defaulters.

For the first time it proposes to give incentives in the form of basic pay to the staff for highest collection of property tax arrears. The GHMC Standing Committee, which met last week, unanimously decided to award incentives to the employees for highest collection of arrears of property tax for the current financial year 2013-14.

Bill collectors, tax inspectors, valuation officers and deputy municipal commissioners, who register a 50 percent increase in the total property tax collection during the present financial year (2013-14) (arrears plus current) compared to last year, will receive an incentive of two months’ basic pay.

Employees, who register 40 percent growth in total property tax collection, will get an incentive of one and a half months’ basic pay and those who register 30 percent growth in the collection this financial year  will get an incentive of one month’s basic pay and those who register 20 percent increase in total property tax collection  will get half-month’s basic pay as an incentive.

With the proposed incentives, the staff are expected to work with vigour and zeal to collect property tax arrears as well as current tax for the present financial year. At present, about 270 bill collectors, 80 tax inspectors and 36 valuation officers are working in the corporation. There are about 13 lakh property tax assessees in the corporation’s limits.

Recently, a review meeting of senior GHMC officials was held on improving the property tax collections and bring the un-assessed and under-assessed properties into the tax net.

At the meeting it was proposed to provide incentives on behalf of GHMC to the staff, especially to the bill collectors, tax inspectors, valuation officers and deputy  commissioners of all 18 circles who achieve the target of collecting property tax arrears and also to those who bring un-assessed and under-assessed properties into the property tax net.

According to GHMC officials, the corporation has collected property tax to the tune of Rs 785 crore in the last financial year (2012-13) as against the demand of Rs 1,274 crore excluding government properties.

For the current financial year (2013-14), the GHMC targets a Rs 1,730-crore collection that includes arrears, interest and current year’s tax with interest, penalty etc. Till date, the corporation has collected property tax of about Rs 415 crore and expects to collect Rs 1,000 crore by March 31.

One percent excess amount collected over last year’s collection will be utilised for awarding cash incentives to the best-performing BCs, TIs, VOs and DMCs in their respective jurisdiction.

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is flouting laws by placing intermediate sites in the open market instead of allotting it to the 2,70,000 beneficiaries in the city, said B M  Shivakumar, president, Jayaprakash Narayan Rao Vichara Vedike.

Shivakumar told reporters on Friday that while it is fair to auction corner and commercial sites, it is against the law to open intermediate residential sites for bidding.

“The BDA has already sold several sites in HSR Layout, BTM Layout, Koramangala and other areas to NRIs while several people in Bangalore, who have paid registration fees,  are still waiting. These allotments must be cancelled immediately and given to the beneficiaries,” he said.

A Bench comprising Justice V Gopal Gowda and K M Keshavanarayan had also sought the cancellation of the allotments and reallocation of the intermediate sites to applicants, which was also upheld by the Supreme Court.

“However, the BDA has not complied with this. It has turned the allotment into something like a real estate business. There are as many as 25,000 such sites in Bangalore and several people are waiting for their sites to be given by the town planning authority.” Shivakumar said. The BDA is also selling the sites at `6,000-8,000 per square feet instead of the standard `3,000 per square feet, he added.