Urban News

  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size
Taxation

Civic body downplays govt allegations on unauthorised colonies

Wednesday, 01 December 2010 10:28 administrator
Print PDF

Indian Express         01.12.2010

Civic body downplays govt allegations on unauthorised colonies

Express News Service Tags : Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Finance Minister AK Walia Posted: Wed Dec 01 2010, 05:29 hrs

 New Delhi:  Responding to Finance Minister AK Walia’s criticism of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) asking unauthorised colonies to pay property tax, the civic body has said it was the Delhi government that initiated the move in the first place.

Standing Committee chairman Yogender Chandolia, on Tuesday, demanded that the Delhi government immediately issue the Notification for Property Tax Exemption in villages, urban villages and unauthorised colonies if it wanted them to be exempted.

He said that that the MCD had sent five resolutions in this regard to the Delhi government from 2007 to 2010, but to no avail. The move by Walia was “politically motivated”, Chandolia added.

To Walia’s criticism that the MCD was not regularising unauthorised colonies, Chandolia said, “The MCD has to finalise the layout plans. But, before that, the Delhi government has to finalise the boundaries, which has not been done.”

Referring to records, Chandolia said that though the Delhi government had promised to grant Rs 50 crore to develop unauthorised colonies for the year 2010-11, only Rs 37.50 crore has been received so far. Stating that only Rs 569 crore had been given to the MCD for undertaking sanitation work at 1,539 unauthorised colonies since 1998, he said Walia had wrongly claimed that Rs 3,326 crore was allotted for development.

Chandolia also denied the government’s allegation that the MCD had recovered property tax to the tune of Rs 8 crore from rural villages last year. He said that in 2008-09, only Rs 51,22,000 was recovered while the amount for the first half of 2009-10 was Rs 34,62,000.

Referring to records, Chandolia said that though the Delhi government had promised to grant Rs 50 crore to develop unauthorised colonies for the year 2010-11, only Rs 37.50 crore has been received so far. Stating that only Rs 569 crore had been given to the MCD for undertaking sanitation work at 1,539 unauthorised colonies since 1998, he said Walia had wrongly claimed that Rs 3,326 crore was allotted for development.

Chandolia also denied the government’s allegation that the MCD had recovered property tax to the tune of Rs 8 crore from rural villages last year. He said that in 2008-09, only Rs 51,22,000 was recovered while the amount for the first half of 2009-10 was Rs 34,62,000.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 December 2010 10:43
 

New property tax system could be delayed

Tuesday, 30 November 2010 11:06 administrator
Print PDF

Hindustan Times  30.11.2010

New property tax system could be delayed

The implementation of the new capital value-based property tax system is likely to get delayed. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) may not be able to map 1.2 lakh properties in the city using the Geographic Information System (GIS) after former additional municipal commissioner Ashish Kumar Singh expressed reservations about the method. Mapping these properties using GIS was a prerequisite for implementing the new property tax system in which tax will be calculated on the property’s Ready Reckoner rates.

Singh, who was transferred to the chief minister’s office last week, had questioned the feasibility of the method, which involves a private contractor’s employees entering people’s homes and taking readings. “I had my doubts whether it was legally tenable to let unknown men enter houses and bedrooms of citizens to measure the area and hence asked for legal opinion,” Singh said.

The civic body will now have to send out its employees to measure these properties. “Our job would have been much easier had we been allowed to use GIS to map properties and digitise all our records,” a senior officer from the assessment and collection department said requesting anonymity.

A senior official, requesting anonymity, said Singh’s adverse remarks meant a death knell for the project. “Almost all senior officials have agreed with Singh and hence there is no scope for the project to be revived,” he said.

The tendering process for the GIS mapping has been complete. The BMC had planned to implement the capital-value based property tax system from March 2011 with retrospective effect from April 2010. For this, the civic body will need to have records of all properties ready by January 2011. “We are yet to work out how to measure these properties. One option is to allocate the properties ward-wise and instruct ward offices to depute staff to do the job,” a BMC official said.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 November 2010 11:08
 

No property tax in unauthorized colonies: Govt

Tuesday, 30 November 2010 10:42 administrator
Print PDF

The Times of India  30.11.2010

No property tax in unauthorized colonies: Govt
NEW DELHI: In an attempt to woo its critical vote banks in unauthorized colonies, rural and urbanized villages, the ruling Congress in the Delhi assembly unanimously adopted a motion on Monday that property tax should not be levied by the MCD in these areas.

The motion specified that the tax should not be levied in unauthorized colonies, where dwelling units are being used for personal residence, till the colonies are regularized. They also agreed that property tax should not be levied on all the properties belonging to original settlers and their heir in rural villages and urbanized villages.

A motion on imposition of property tax on unauthorized colonies and urbanized villages was moved by Congress MLA Mukesh Sharma demanding that MCD should be directed to not levy property tax in unauthorized colonies until the colonies are regularized.

Replying to the motion, Delhi urban development minister A K Walia lashed out at the MCD stating that the corporation has been consistently blaming the Delhi government to deflect attention from its own failures. ''The MCD leaves no opportunity to blame and malign the Delhi government,'' he asserted.

Walia stated that the MCD has already been collecting property tax from unauthorized colonies, urban villages and rural villages. The collection in respect of year 2009-10 was Rs 20 crore in unauthorized colonies, Rs 2 crore in urban villages and Rs 8 crore in rural villages.

''They (MCD) have been collecting property tax from 9 lakh dwelling units but they have no interest in providing civic services as the entire system of the MCD has collapsed and there is no maintenance of roads, parks and colonies, including unauthorized colonies. They are only interested in making allegations on the Delhi government. The MCD must understand that 97% of the capital's area is coming under their jurisdiction,'' Walia added.

He further alleged that the MCD has been finding excuses to delay the process of regularization of colonies. ''The city government sent drawings of 700 unauthorized colonies out of which the MCD returned the layout plan of only six colonies. With this pace, the regularization process will never be completed. The onus lies on the MCD to finalize layout plans so that the Delhi government can approach the high court for regularization of colonies,'' Walia argued.

With this background, he reaffirmed that levying property tax on properties in unauthorized colonies and urbanized villages makes no sense.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 November 2010 10:44
 
More Articles...


Page 145 of 265