The Indian Express                  15.05.2013

MC set to impose property tax on commercial buildings in 5 villages

The Municipal Corporation on Tuesday decided to impose property tax on commercial buildings in five villages under its purview. It was also proposed to increase property tax on commercial, industrial and institutional land and buildings in the city. Civic body officials have been directed to prepare a proposal for the same.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the House Tax Assessment committee held on Tuesday. The panel members decided that property tax would be charged from five villages, which were included in the MC limits in 2006. The villages include Hallomajra, Kajheri, Palsora, Maloya and Dadumajra. The tax will be charged from the current date.

The proposal met with opposition from Shiromani Akali Dal councillor Malkit Singh, who was part of the committee. He said that the condition of the villages that were already under the ambit of taxes was deplorable. He rued that since no facilities were being provided by the Municipal Corporation in villages where taxes were imposed, these should not be imposed on others.

Amidst opposition, the proposal was passed by the committee. A total of 2,862 units with an area of 9,09,946-sq ft fall in these five villages. These include 576 in Dadumajra, 556 in Maloya, 649 in Kajheri, 293 in Palsora and 788 in Hallomajra. The civic body has already been charging property tax from other villages that came under its purview.

Earlier, questions had been raised over the survey that was conducted when tax was imposed. The councillors have time and again reiterated that the survey had been faulty and a fresh survey be conducted.

The committee members also proposed that tax on commercial, industrial and institutional land and buildings in the city be revised. For this, the officials have been asked to formulate a proposal that will be discussed by the committee members.

The panel members also asked the officials to start computerisation of the property tax collection process, so that the online system could be initiated.