The Kolkata Municipal Corporation is eyeing to bring all the unassessed properties under assessment scheme within a year. The civic body is also considering getting more stringent towards unassessed property owners.
The civic body has collected Rs 975 crore from property tax in 2022-2023 till 31 January. The corporation recorded an increased number of 9.14 lakh registered assesses till this period by policies of assessment of the unassessed properties and collection of taxes from them.
Taking a step ahead, KMC mayor Firhad Hakim has given one year’s time to the officials of the assessment department to bring the unassessed properties under the scheme.
“If anyone does not do it, will be show caused or punished as per the law but there will be no unassessed property in Kolkata,” said mayor Hakim today.
“In big complexes, we will organise camps and do the assessment,” he added.
In the next fiscal, the civic body has plans of going stricter with owners defaulting taxes or keeping outstanding property tax dues.
The KMC is considering taking strong actions like rent attachment and auction for sale of property against them.
The mayor who was speaking during the KMC budget discussion, also announced drastic action against theft of fibre cables from the KMC lampposts.
According to the mayor, the pilot project carried out at three places in the city including Harish Mukherjee Road and Alipore, will now be expanded in KMC wards on a PPP model through capital investments.
Tolly Nallah, which according to the mayor is still one of the major issues in the city, is another focus area of the civic body this year. As Tolly Nallah is one of the major issues in the city now, according to the mayor, the KMC is to augment 12 new pumping stations and 16 of those that were shut down earlier. The KMC is carrying works on a distribution line in a 49-km stretch in Tollygunge area.
Notably, to overcome the issue of waterlogging, the civic body is setting up pumping stations in various corners of the city. As underlined by Mr Hakim, similar initiatives are being taken to address waterlogging woes near Thanthania.
“There will be no waterlogging in Thanthania Kalibari in two years. The state government has sanctioned the plan and the pumping station will be opened at Rishikesh Park,” claimed Mr Hakim.
Replying to the opposition queries on Maa Canteen, another initiative of the KMC, the mayor informed that there are 135 stalls running across 127 wards.
Around 25,413 people are fed from these daily during noon while food is provided to eight hospitals under the scheme.