With the survey of properties under Geographic Information System (GIS) almost over, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation is likely to issue its demand notices for property tax incorporating results of the survey.
The GIS survey that took more than three years covered 3.56 lakh properties. Following some discrepancies, officials took up on-field, random verification of the GIS findings.
“The GIS survey part is over and now integrating details like photographs with the other data on the systems is going on,” Additional Commissioner (Projects) K. Ramesh told The Hindu .
The survey indicated around 32 per cent increase in the revenue collection from property tax.
Higher tax is expected from about 50,000 assessments from which use of the premises (commercial/residential) and wrong plinth area measurements were detected using GIS data.
Officials estimate that about Rs.19 crore more from property tax can be realised per year using the data from the GIS.
It has also indicated revenue of Rs.12 crore from VLT.
On the other hand, the survey has shown some decrease in the tax for about 5,000 to 6,000 assessments.
Mr. Ramesh attributes this mostly to wrong data entry of plinth area or use.
The tax increase using GIS data will reflect in the demand notices that will be issued for the first half year of 2012-13.
Reforms
Improving property tax collection using GIS data is one of the reforms that the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation committed itself for utilising funds under the centrally-sponsored Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The GIS survey is taken up by Xinthe Technologies.
