Ludhiana MC to conduct re-survey of properties to crack down on tax evaders

Failing to catch hold of over 86,000 property tax evaders— as per an estimate based on the GIS-based survey conducted in the city around seven years back— the municipal corporation (MC) has now decided to conduct a re-survey of properties across the city to ascertain the number of properties and tax violators.

The survey will be conducted under the project to install unique identification (UID) number plates outside properties under the Smart City Mission. A QR code will also be assigned to each and every property and all the details regarding the payment of taxes will be available online.

The MC has also been struggling to complete the UID number plates project in the city for the last five years. The last project turned out to be a failure as 4.36 lakh properties were identified under the project taken up through Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) in Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), but the plates could only be installed outside around 25,000 properties. The contract was then cancelled by the MC and a new project has been proposed under the Smart City Mission.

As per the previous survey, there were 4.36 lakh properties, including plots, in the city, but only around 3.50 lakh property owners have been paying the tax. In a bid to nab 86,000 remaining defaulters, the MC will now again be conducting a survey of properties in the city as the number of buildings have also increased in these years. The data collected will be uploaded online and cross checked to catch the defaulters.

MC superintendent Vivek Verma said a project has been prepared under the Smart City Mission and a re-survey would be held to cover all the properties. “The state department officials have proposed a few changes to reduce the cost of the project and after getting the final approval from the state, the project will be initiated. After the details of each and every property will be available with MC online, it will be easy for the department to catch the tax defaulters,” he added.

The fund-starved MC has been struggling to pay salaries to the staff, due to which the higher officials have been pushing the employees to expedite the recovery of dues from the residents/defaulters.