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Property tax draft by-laws comes in for criticism

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI OCT. 27. A group representing plot and flat owners of Delhi Development Authority colonies has come out strongly against the draft by-laws and press notification pertaining to the MCD (Property Tax) Draft Bye-Laws, 2003, on the Unit Area Method on the ground that it has been framed on the basis of faulty yardsticks that does not make a distinction on economic basis.

In a note, the Apex Association of DDA colonies has stated that under the new system an annual area value for each property has been specified and the calculation of property tax has been allowed on self-assessment basis by multiplying the unit area value with the covered areas.

But while for this all the colonies and localities have been classified into groups A to G on parameters such as settlement patterns, availability of civic and social infrastructure, access to roads, age of the colony, prevailing rental value and economic status, as per the Association, in the amendment bye-laws many loopholes and disparities remain.

Pointing to the anomaly, it said posh colonies in South Delhi like Lodhi Road, East of Kailash, Alaknanda and Chittaranjan Park have been placed in Group B along with Janakpuri DDA MIG and LIG flats which have been built on 100 and 80 square feet plots. Further, the amendments are silent on the rebate to be given to senior citizens, self-occupancy and age of the colony.

In case of Janakpuri, it said, the flats were allotted in 197 at a disposal cost of Rs 24,000 and Rs 35,000 for LIG and MIG flats respectively and so after a 20 per cent rebate, their range of tax came to Rs 250 and Rs 400 respectively. But under the new scheme, it said, the covered area of the property being 60 sq yards and 80 sq yards respectively, the tax amount at Rs 48 per square feet under Category B increased to over Rs 4,000.

Thus, averring that the residents of these areas were at a great disadvantage due to the new method of calculation, the Association called for a review of the policy.

Stating that the last date for filing objections is October 31, the Association said there is a fit case for applying different categories and classification to private kothies and flat built by DDA to categories D and E respectively instead of applying class B to all having due regard to the factors elaborated above.

Of the view that the economic status of residents of LIG and MIG flats can be easily seen, it said clubbing them with affluent people in B category also amounted to gross injustice and deprivation of their right to sustenance. "Since the DDA flats have distinct and separate entity, it would be wrong to club them with self-built buildings on plots and put them in category B'', the secretary general of the association, D.S. Pandey, said.

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