With the State Cabinet deciding on a 20% cut in the annual Plan outlay, the Kozhikode Corporation will have no other go but to implement the proposals of London-based property consultant Knight Frank India to raise revenue to meet the expenses of the civic body.
Knight Frank India, hired by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrut) project, had asked the corporation last month to raise property tax by 5% annually and to prepare guidelines for charging taxes on larger projects, especially those with built-up area of above 2,00,000 square feet. However, the corporation council has remained indecisive, despite a decline in revenue and cut in funds, on the execution of various projects.
Now, the Cabinet has decided to cut the annual Plan fund in the wake of the floods.
Both Mayor Thottathil Raveendran and Deputy Mayor Meera Darshak, who is also the chairperson of the finance standing committee, have remained non-committal to further revision of property tax. It has already been revised for residential, industrial and commercial buildings.
Revision
Incidentally, the tax was revised with retrospective effect from April 1, 2013, based on State government guidelines. The Knight Frank team has offered technical assistance for developing a value capture financing (VCF) framework to efficiently capture the additional land and property value being generated through public investments.
Hiking rentals
One of the suggestions is to hike the rentals of public assets, since the corporation derives 8.45% of its revenue through property rentals.
It has also suggested that the daily rent on grounds at Muthalakkulam, Mankavu, Thiruvanoor, Kuttichira, and Karuvassery be revised in the range of ₹500 to ₹5,000. For now, the rental rate per day for the grounds is just ₹50, besides GST.
Similarly, the consultant has recommended that the rental charges on buildings at CH Flyover, Dhohighana, EMS Stadium complex, Idiyengara market, Indira complex, N.V. Market, Old Market, Palayam Annex, Palayam Bus Stand, Puthiyapalam, and Puthiyara market be revised. Besides, the corporation has been told to identify underdeveloped properties and take up development work to generate more income.
