After hitting the reset button on the Geographical Information System (GIS) project, the Coimbatore Corporation will begin a fresh survey for data collection.
Contract agency
The civic body will conduct the survey in association with the contract agency, Tata Consultancy Services, in the next couple of weeks, says T.K. Ponnusamy, Commissioner.
The civic body has chosen four wards each in each of the old four zones for the survey.
A Corporation employee, probably bill collector, along with a trained TCS nominee will conduct door-to-door survey of residential and commercial buildings and industrial establishments in the wards to assess the area, gather owners' details and other property-tax related information.
Vacant land details
They will also collect vacant land details.
Mr. Ponnusamy says that the Corporation has finalised the form for data collection after carrying out a sample survey in a ward.
Even as the teams go about collecting data, they will also hand over self-assessment forms in English and Tamil to the owners for voluntary disclosure of details. At the end of the data-collection drive, the Corporation will compare the details.
A 10 – 15 per cent deviation in the area is allowed. Wherever it is more, the Corporation's data will be accepted after verification.
Difference
And if the difference between the data in self-assessment forms and the ones the Corporation and TCS has collected is not wide, the Corporation will accept the same.
After collating the data for all the 16 wards and observing the difference the Corporation will think about scaling up the operations for the 100 wards.
Revenue
The Corporation initiated the GIS project more than two years ago as part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission scheme to improve revenue and plan infrastructure development projects. Then it had tied up with TCS.
Erroneous
But soon the project ran into rough weather after the data collected was found erroneous.
“Data in only one of the 2,300 assessment forms was accurate,” the Commissioner says.
Once the Corporation scales up the operations, it will provide unique identification number for the owners of properties in Coimbatore for tax payment.
The owners can also use the number to establish their rightful ownership of the property.
