NMC incurs loss of Rs 153 crore

NAGPUR: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation has incurred a loss of almost Rs 153.19 crores due to non revision of properties as per revised rates.
According to the latest report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), it has come to light that NMC's property tax department has assessed only 14% - 63,997 out of 4,47,468 properties - as per the revised base rates."The non assessment has resulted into the deferment of revenue of Rs 153.19 crore during 2008-09 and '09-10," the report stated.
With just a month left for the financial year to end, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's property tax department has managed to get just Rs 107 crore from the projected target of Rs 176 crore by standing committee and Rs 165 crore of the target given by municipal commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal in the modified budget.
The property tax is levied and recovered by the civic body according to section 115 of the City of Nagpur Corporation Act-1948. As per the then municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta's order in February 2007, the new assessment procedure of levying property tax was introduced fixing the base rate of Rs 10 per square meter per month for constructed properties and Rs 5 per sq meter for open plots based on annual letting value. The revised procedure of levy property tax was made effective from April 1, 2008.
CAG's test check of tax assessment calculations of reassessed cases revealed that property tax of residential property increased twice and non-residential properties thrice as compared to pre-revised rates.
When NMC officials stated that due to shortage of staffers and manpower, revision of 3,83,471 properties is pending, the CAG slammed NMC stating that its contention is not acceptable as the delay has resulted in deferment of almost Rs 153 crore revenue. "If action had been taken promptly, the timely reassessment of properties would have helped the NMC in realizing revenue for the ongoing Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission projects and other development activities in the city," the report stated.
A senior NMC official informed that property tax department is responsible for the huge loss. Property tax, one of the major sources of revenue for the civic body, has always fallen short of the target due to massive tax evasion which is abetted by rampant corruption in the property tax department and steadfast opposition by politicians to tax their voters.
Standing committee chairman Sandip Joshi informed that the collection will touch Rs 140 crore by March end. However, he blamed the state government for lower collection. "We have sent a proposal for a one-time settlement (OTS) for property owners who have not paid their dues since many years. There are cases pertaining to 1980s. We proposed to give a discount of 30% to tax pertaining to the pre-2000 period and 20% for 2000 and 2005. However, the government is simply sitting on the proposal," said Joshi.
Box
When P RP NR ED DR
08-09 432035 63997 368038 135.84 67.92
09-10 447468 63997 383471 170.54 85.27
Note: P: Properties; RP: Reassessed properties; NR: Not revised, ED: Expected Demand in rupees; DR Deferment of revenue in rupees