Mangaluru City Corporation to conduct property survey

To ensure efficient collection of property tax under SAS (Self Assessment Scheme), Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has decided to conduct a property survey within its limits with the help of Multi-Purpose Workers (MPWs).

“Money from the property tax, one of the primary sources of revenue for the MCC, is only Rs 56 crore, which amounts to 50% of the total revenue generated in the city,” MCC Commissioner Akshy Sridhar said during the MCC’s monthly council meeting held in the council hall on Friday.

The survey will be taken up on a pilot basis in one ward. Looking at the success, it will be extended to other wards, he added.

The property survey was taken up in the city under Urban property ownership records (UPOR) but only in the central business district (CBD) areas.

Using digital platforms, the properties need to be reevaluated. The surveyors will conduct a door-to-door survey and will also conduct geo-based surveys using mobile applications, Sridhar said.

The Commissioner said already, revenue wards had been divided into revenue blocks. Each block has been linked to the main and crossroads.

The surveyors will collect details of property owners and photographs of the properties, he added.

Sridhar said under the SAS property tax, there were cases of many property owners failing to declare their properties properly, thus affecting the revenue generation. Once the survey is completed, the property taxes of undeclared properties can be recovered. The properties will be divided as houses, shops, commercial complexes, apartments/malls, industrial units, public properties, marriage halls, and so on, he added.

Along with the names of the owners, the surveyors will also collect details of Aadhaar, mobile phone number, RR number, water connection, the SAS number, ownership, and types of floor and roof in the houses.

Once the details are collected, it will be verified by the surveyors and later it will be part of the database, he added.