KOLKATA: Once a bill gets passed in the state cabinet, the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) may soon be entrusted to assess, levy and collect property tax from the residents of Rajarhat-New Town.

The New Town Kolkata Development Authority may be soon entrusted to
assess, levy and collect property tax from residents of Rajarhat New
Town.

The state urban development department had earlier mooted
the proposal in the state cabinet for approval. The department was then
asked to make some amendments in the New Town Kolkata Development Act so
that the authority can be entrusted with the responsibility to act like
a municipality or corporation and be able to collect tax.

Sources said Highly placed government officials said that a proposal was
presented in has been mooted to the state cabinet to approve a bill to
make certain amendments in the New Town Kolkata Development Act, 2007 to
allow NKDA to collect tax. “The proposal has been placed before the
state cabinet and the urban development department is working hard on it
so that the proposal allowing NKDA to collect taxes gets passed in the
cabinet,” a highly-placed government official said. The authorities will
start work on preparing and assessing a tax structure, once the bill
gets the final nod from the state cabinet.

At present, residents
of Rajarhat-New Town do not pay property tax to the government. Last
month, the state cabinet deferred the proposal by from the urban
development department to raise entrust

NKDA to the stature of a municipality assess and collect property taxes in Newtown Rajarhat after chief minister Mamata Banerjee
reportedly inquired whether an authority can collect taxes from
residents. Currently, Rajarhat-New Town does not fall under any
municipality or corporation and the NKDA is acts as the local civic
body.

On getting to know about the prospective levy of taxes,
residents welcomed the move. but said that they had no problem of giving
tax, but the civic amenities in the area have to be spruced up first.

“We are always willing to pay tax, but the authorities first have to
develop the basic civic amenities like roads, water supply, solid waste
management, streetlights etc before imposing tax on us,” said Samir
Mitra, a resident of Greenwood Park Housing.

The New Town
Kolkata Development Authority was formed on January 1, 2009 and is
headed by a chairman. with the appointment of the Chairman and members
of the Authority.

The New Town Kolkata Development Authority Act, 2007 was passed by the West Bengal
legislature and the authority was formed to provide planned
development, as well as providing civic services and amenities in the
areas in Rajarhat-New Town.

Before the formation of the
authority, the responsibility to collect and dispose solid waste and
provide few other civic services was carried out by on the neighbouring
Bidhannagar Municipality.

The state government is also working
to upgrade the Bidhannagar Municipality into a corporation so that a
large area surrounding Salt Lake, including a part of Rajarhat, could fall within its jurisdiction.