The Hindu 08.01.2018
Many properties ‘missing’ in tax portal!
Commissioners asked to make precise assessment, submit details within 10 days
About 13,113 urban properties in 63 municipalities or Urban Local
Bodies (ULBs) across Telangana do not show any measurements pertaining
to the size or shape in the official records while another 1,394
properties in 43 municipalities are with zero tax payment!
These
‘discrepancies’ in the property tax records in the Urban Local Bodies
came to light when senior officials of the Municipal Administration and
Urban Development pursued a report furnished by E-suvidha to the
department detailing tax receipts for the year so far.
With just
three months to go for the various municipal bodies to complete
collection of property tax, which is a major source of revenue, the
department has directed municipal commissioners of the ULBs concerned to
make precise assessments of the properties listed and submit details of
the same within 10 days.
There are close to 12.5 lakh properties
in the 73 ULBs that have been satellite mapped and geo-tagged recently
with the help of ISRO-National Remote Sensing Centre.
Karimnagar
topped the list of maximum properties without any measurements at 1,484
followed by Adilabad (1,127), Khammam (960), Nizamabad (881), Tandur
(748), Sangareddy (629), Palwancha (469) and Korutla (433).
Among municipalities with zero tax properties are Wanaparthy (324), Khammam (256), Zaheerabad (137) and Palwancha (126).
Third-party audits
Municipal
Administration Minister K.T. Rama Rao had earlier asked the department
to have third party independent audits on the functioning of the Urban
Local Bodies and the Institute of Public Auditors has been poring
through the records to check for fault lines to be corrected.
Already, about 16,800 properties not even in tax assessments have been identified and notices served, senior officials said.
Municipal
commissioners concerned have now been instructed to ensure revenue
inspectors are sent onto the field for physical verification of the
properties listed in the above mentioned categories, take correct
measurements, calculate the tax amount to be paid and update the same in
the online tax module, as per orders by Commissioner & Director of
Municipal Administration T.K. Sreedevi.
