Bill passed to exempt property tax on afforested city land

To encourage people to plant trees in the municipal area of Kolkata, the West Bengal Assembly Thursday passed a bill for exemption of property tax on land where afforestation is done.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill made provisions for exemption of property tax on various aspects including urban forestation.

According to the bill, a person will be exempted from property tax if his or her land - vacant or with a building on it - has been kept or preserved in such a manner that it helps in maintaining ecological balance of the locality.

There are also provisions of exemption of property tax on holdings used for running government-owned or sponsored hospitals and clinics.

Some other provisions were also made in the passed bill to enable the authorities to make the tax assessment procedures smoother for the benefit of tax payers.