VISAKHAPATNAM : In a race against time, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation authorities have stepped up efforts to realise the property tax from 2.72 lakh assesses in its purview. The total demand for the current year is Rs.42.88 crores including arrears of Rs.8 crores. With hardly a week left in the financial year, the collection so far is Rs.32 crores from over two lakh assesses, including Rs.4 crores of arrears.

The property tax collection has been slack during the past two months owing to the elections to the corporation, admits Y. Sai Sreekanth, Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) of the GVMC. The corporation fell short by Rs.4 crores in collecting the total demand of Rs.40 crores in the last financial year.

Interest from defaulters

The merger of 32 gram panchayats and Gajuwaka municipality have pushed up the demand by Rs.2 crores and added one lakh new assesses to the corporation. For the half-year ending March, 2007, the property tax was levied in the merged area according to the corporation norms.

Mr. Sai Srikant said notices had been issued to all the defaulters who had not paid the property tax. From those who have arrears to pay, a simple interest of 2 per cent is being collected.

For instance, Rs.1.97 lakhs was collected on Monday as interest from defaulters. After a long time, the corporation had collected about Rs.1 crores as interest from defaulters, he said. "The interest component is part of the software and hence none can change it," he says.

The corporation is adopting a sort of carrot and stick policy to realise its dues. From March 1, it had started acting tough on defaulters. After issuing distress notices, staff are inventorying the valuables in households and bringing them away for non-payment.

The articles thus brought are mainly TVs, fridges, washing machines and motorcycles. About 15 such cases are taking place everyday. They are returned after payment.

Two notices under Revenue Recovery Act have been issued for amounts totalling Rs.7 lakhs.

To encourage payment of property tax and water tax within due date, the corporation has introduced an incentive scheme.

For those paying the taxes between March 5 and March 31, cash prizes worth Rs.1 lakh with a first prize of Rs.20,000, two second prizes of Rs.10,000 each and three third prizes of Rs.5,000 each and 45 consolation prizes of Rs.1,000 each have been announced.

Besides, it also announced gifts worth Rs.72,000 for 144 highest and prompt tax-payers at the rate of two for each of the 72 wards.

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