The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been able to collect ₹1,413.51 crore as property tax from nearly 10 lakh property owners in the first quarter of the current financial year, which is more than what it had expected.
Ruling Party Leader M. Shivaraju, who claimed that it was an achievement, said that the civic body had brought 18.35 lakh of the 19 lakh-odd properties in the city under the tax net. The BBMP will bring the remaining properties in the tax bracket by providing GIS-based property identity numbers by the next financial year.
The BBMP had taken up total station survey of over a hundred big properties across the city to ascertain if property tax declared under Self Assessment Scheme was accurate. Of this, it has been able to garner an additional ₹180 crore. “The total amount that has come our way after the total station survey is actually ₹559 crore, which includes interest and penalties,” he said.
Mr. Shivaraju said the BBMP is now planning to take up total station survey in 100 big properties in each of the eight zones in the city in the 2018-19 financial year. This, he said, will bring the BBMP an additional ₹300 crore at least every year.
Financial position
With increased revenue, the civic body's financial position has become healthier. According to Mr. Shivaraju, the BBMP had outstanding loans amounting to ₹1,434.39 crore from Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd. (HUDCO) in the last financial year.
After the loans were swapped with the State Bank of India for a lower rate of interest, the BBMP now has around ₹714.59 crore outstanding loans, including ₹56 crore with the KUIFDC. This year, a payment of ₹415.26 crore has been made, saving the civic body ₹10 crore in interest, he claimed.
The BBMP is also hoping to take back ownership of two of its properties – Rajajinagar Complex and Pottery Road Slaughter House – that were mortgaged. Of the 11 properties that were mortgaged, the BBMP has taken back Kempegowda Museum, Mayo Hall, Johnson Market and Malleswaram Market. Five other buildings that have been mortgaged are Public Utility Building, K.R. Market, West zone office, Dasappa Hospital and Kalasipalya Market.