The Centre’s demonetisation move may have caused inconvenience to people, but has given the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) reasons to smile. The municipal and local bodies being allowed to accept the scrapped Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 notes for payment of taxes and utility charges is helping the cash-strapped MCC fill its coffers.
The collection of property tax and water bills by MCC has been continuing at a brisk pace after the government extended the last date for accepting old notes till November 24.
The MCC, which collected Rs. 3.17 crore as property tax and water bill due from November 9 to 15, crossed the Rs. 4-crore mark on November 16. “We collected more than Rs. 4 crore in six days, starting November 9, excluding Saturday and Sunday,” MCC Commissioner G. Jagadeesha told The Hindu .
To capitalise on the extension of last date for accepting old notes, the MCC is using multimedia communications to reach out to property owners and water consumers to clear dues. The MCC has directed their nine zonal offices to dispatch vehicles fitted with public address system to announce acceptance of the old notes for payment of dues. “We will continue this drive till November 24,” Mr. Jagadeesha added.
Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Kumar Naik said MCC has tied up with Kotak Mahindra bank, which has set up kiosks in the zonal offices, to help the public pay their dues. “While MCC personnel at the kiosk will assist in filling out the challan, the bank representatives will collect the cash,” Mr. Naik said.
While the property tax collection target for 2016-17 is Rs. 200 crore, Mr. Jagadeesha said the MCC had so far collected Rs. 73 crore. The carried over balance of property tax due from previous years amounting to Rs. 50 crore, had been included in the target amount.
The MCC had managed to collect about Rs. 28 crore against the target Rs. 33 crore as water dues for 2016-17, he said. However, a balance of Rs. 100 crore from the previous years is still due, he added.
