Property tax collection goes up

With just three months left for the financial year to end, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has claimed to have already collected Rs 2,159 crore from property taxes till now.

The civic body has set a target to collect close to Rs 3,000 crore from property taxes by the end of March 2019.

“Until today, close to 11.40 lakh property owners in the city have paid taxes. This is Rs 200 crore more than what we had collected during the same period in the previous financial year,” said BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad at the monthly council meeting held on Thursday.

He also said that the BBMP was going strict this time, as he has directed the revenue officials to issue warrants to tax defaulters and seize their properties.

The BBMP is aiming to collect at least Rs 500 crore more by the end of March 2019.

Ruling party leader M Shivaraju has also sent in a proposal to Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun and the commissioner to recognise revenue officials who ensure 100% property tax collection in their respective wards.

Another means of meeting the tax target is by collecting property tax from top defaulters, said Shivaraju.

“With the help of total station survey, we have identified 89 top defaulters who owe us close to Rs 223 crore, and this will add to our revenue,” he said.

During the previous financial year (2017-18), the civic body had collected Rs 1,655 crore from property taxes. This was in fact less than the estimated target of Rs 2,600 crore.

As BBMP finances are steadily improving, the commissioner said that the civic body will receive close to Rs 1,100 crore through the state finance commission.

These funds can be utilised for various projects related to drinking water, roads, underground drainage, parks, streetlights etc.

“As 60% of the revenue is generated from Bengaluru alone, the commission has awarded 1% of the resources for development works of the city,” said Prasad.