VINUKONDA (GUNTUR DT.) : The income of Vinukonda Municipality is likely to treble to about Rs.1 crore per annum from the existing Rs.33 lakhs if the proposal to raise property taxes is approved in the council meeting to be held on Wednesday.

"Most of the houses in this newly-formed municipality were either under-assessed or unassessed," Municipal Commissioner M. Jaswantha Rao said here on Tuesday. Vinukonda MLA Makkena Mallikarjuna Rao will take part in the meet. The municipality has about 9,000 houses which pay property tax. "However about 70 per cent of the houses are under-assessed," he said.

Door-to-door survey

The revised taxes were obtained after studying the taxation system of other municipalities in the district. The town was divided into six zones and the municipal personnel conducted a door-to-door survey.

The Monthly Rental Value (MRV) of other municipalities was studied before fixing the rates here and the rates were among the lowest. The property rates in a few wards, especially in the slum areas may come down, he said

Water tax

About 1,500 houses under the municipal limits were likely to come under the purview of property tax. The municipality was also aiming to raise Rs.10 lakhs from water tax. Before Vinukonda became a municipality, the Panchayat lacked a proper system of taxation. Many times, the taxes were adjusted to the advantage of a few people, Mr. Rao said.

Eight wards were selected under the first phase of Indiramma scheme and estimates to the tune of Rs.10 crores were submitted to the Government. Most of the proposals relate to providing drinking water and housing.

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