Over Rs 300 crore property tax due to EDMC from govt bodies

Property tax worth over Rs 300 crore is due from various government entities to the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, which has asked its department to come hard on defaulters, a senior official of the civic body said today.
"Property tax worth Rs 309 crore is due from various government entities from the last financial year to the EDMC. While collection of taxes from private properties have been decent, the government properties are major defaulters," EDMC Public Relations Officer said.
The list of defaulters include -- Delhi Transco Limited, Delhi Development Authority, Delhi Police, Post Office, Department of Social Welfare Sanskar Ashram, Department of Women and Child Development, among others.

As part of its budget this year, the Corporation has set a target of Rs 200 crore for the Property Tax, chairman of EDMC's Standing Committee Sanjay Surjan said yesterday while proposing the final draft of the budget.
Referring to the list of defaulters, the chairman asked officials to take all possible measures to recover taxes.
"Taxes from private properties have been recovered well but recovery from government properties have not been up to the mark and the issue is now a matter of concern for the municipal body," he said in a statement.

Stating that instructions have been given to officials to recover the taxes due, the chairman said if necessary, bank accounts of defaulters also would be attached.

During the Standing Committee meet, new taxes proposed by the EDMC commissioner has not been accepted, Surjan said.
As per the efforts of the municipal body to augment property taxes, Mann said, the budget has proposed that every property owner will be given a unit identity number and a property tax pass book and the payment shall be done through that book only.
A special window of 30 minutes for addition of names in case of registered births has also been proposed.
"In case of institutional births, say in hospital, etc, a special window of just 30 minutes is proposed for addition of names, apart from sending birth certificates straight to home. In case of institutional deaths also, the certificates will be easily provided by us (EDMC)," Mann told PTI.

Among other proposals, now traders will be able to get their licenses at their homes only. "All they need to do is to make a call to the Corporation and our contractual staff will do the needful. Payment will be made straight through a demand draft to the EDMC," Mann added.
Parking sites would also be developed as advertising sites to boost revenues by putting unipoles, wall wraps and others means.