The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Tax system to be streamlined

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 25, 2006

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Tax system to be streamlined

Staff Reporter

Corporation Council approves budget

Thiruvananthapuram: The City Corporation will take up a ward-level geological survey to update land records and streamline tax assessment. Rounding off the general discussion on the budget in the council on Friday, Deputy Mayor V. Jayaprakash said the project would be launched next month.

Responding to concern about poor tax collection, he said the digital map generated by the survey would help the Corporation to bring all the buildings within the city into the tax net. The map would feature revised parameters to ensure transparent assessment of building tax. The house-to-house data collection exercise will be carried out with the help of polytechnic students, he said.

DIC(K) supports budget

The council approved the budget estimates for the year 2006-'07. Notwithstanding the recent patch- up between the two parties at the State level, the DIC(K) councillors distanced themselves from the confrontational tactics adopted by the United Democratic Front (UDF) during the debate. They supported the budget along with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The UDF members attacked the budget, but did not insist on voting. The revised budget figures show a revenue of Rs.275.46 crores and expenditure of Rs.272.39 crrores, with a surplus of Rs.3.06 crores.

Throughout the debate, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the UDF benches accused each other of torpedoing the development of the city for political gain. While the LDF alleged that the Government move to delink five panchayats from the city was politically-motivated, the UDF members said the ruling front was blaming the Government to cover up its failures.

UDF council party leader Johnson Joseph said the budget lacked new development initiatives. He accused the CPI(M) leadership of torpedoing the Government-sponsored health insurance scheme for the poor. Indian Union Muslim League leader Beemapally Rashid said the budget reflected the infighting within the LDF on the development agenda for the city. He said the ruling coalition had failed to spur the development of the new wards annexed from suburban panchayats and the coastal areas.

CPI(M) leader Puthenkada Vijayan's allegation that Transport Minister N. Sakthan and Kazhakuttam MLA M.A.Vahid were behind the move to delink the five panchayats from the city provoked loud protests from the Opposition ranks.

The CPI council party backed the budget, but reiterated its strident opposition to the decision to accept ADB assistance for city development.

`Enhance tax revenue'

During the discussion, councillors from both sides stressed the need for urgent steps to step up tax collection. Mr. Jayaprakash told the members that the Finance standing committee was working on an intensive drive to recover the tax arrears of Rs.22 crores.

Intervening in the debate, Mayor C. Jayan Babu assured the council that all unauthorised advertisement hoardings would be removed from the city. Health standing committee chairman G.R.Anil said the Corporation would take stern action against illegal slaughterhouses. The council approved an additional budget allocation of Rs.10 lakhs to purchase an ambulance equipped with a mobile mortuary.

Earlier, two councillors, Veli Varghese of the Congress and Kuriyathi Sasi of the DIC(K), staged a walk out.

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