The track record of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in property tax collection isn’t the best as it is yet to achieve it targets, but it is hoping to address this issue by taking a leaf out of Mumbai’s book.
Recently, a team from the BBMP, including Commissioner B.H. Anil Kumar, Mayor M. Goutham Kumar, Ruling Party Leader K. Muneendra Kumar, and Opposition Leader Abdul Wajid visited Mumbai to interact with officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Mr. Goutham Kumar tweeted: “Our visit of Mumbai was a great learning experience for all of us. Some great insight from @mybmc officials and Mayor Smt. @KishoriPednekar on trade licence, disaster management, town planning and GIS-based property management system.”
Civic chief Mr. Anil Kumar told The Hindu that the Mumbai corporation has a very good system of property tax. “There, the property tax is linked with health licence (trade licence), Transfer of Development Rights (TDR), and registration under Shops and Commercial Establishments Act. This means that there is very little chance for any building to escape the tax net,” he explained.
Not all of the 20 lakh properties in Bengaluru are covered under the tax net. The BBMP, until January 15, had collected ₹2,425 crore, as against the target of ₹3,500 crore.
Mr. Anil Kumar added that officials also discussed Ease of Doing Business, under which sanction of construction permits, had already been implemented by the Mumbai corporation. “We are also exploring the options to simplify the processes involved in sanctioning building plans, according permits,” he added.
Meanwhile, the BBMP has made a list of top tax defaulters in each of the eight zones in the city. According to officials, the top 10 defaulters of East zone owe ₹2.27 crore to the civic body while those in West zone owe ₹2.09 crore. The dues from the top 10 in South zone amounts to ₹3.64 crore while it is ₹5.42 crore in Mahadevapura, ₹1.41 crore in Yelahanka, ₹1.29 crore in Bommanahalli, ₹3.09 crore in Dasarahalli and a whopping ₹18.97 crore in Rajarajeshwarinagar zone.
The BBMP has reportedly issued two to three demand notices to the defaulters. “We will issue the final demand notice. If they fail to pay even after the final demand notice, the movable properties will be seized, as per provisions of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976,” said a senior civic official.
