Kolkata civic body defers property tax drive due to Covid-19

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s drive against major property tax defaulters is proving to be a difficult exercise, given the renewed lockdown and the ongoing restrictions in the containment zones.

File photo
File photo

KOLKATA: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s drive against major property tax defaulters is proving to be a difficult exercise, given the renewed lockdown and the ongoing restrictions in the containment zones.

The special civic assessment department team that had started raids on major tax defaulters is now being forced to suspend their campaign till the strict restrictions get over as several complexes are reportedly barring them entry, citing contamination risk. Till now, the plan is to restart the drive early in August.

Keen on augmenting the civic revenue, which has suffered a loss of around Rs 300 crore owing to the lockdown in the past four months, the KMC brass asked the assessment department to conduct a special drive against major property tax defaulters.

Accordingly, the crack team was formed in June and the members, armed with notices, paid visit to several high-rises and commercial establishments, compelling some of the defaulters to clear their property tax dues.

“We started the drive after June 8, when the unlock began and by a fortnight, we collected Rs 14 crore from some of the defaulters in the Park Street-Loudon Street belt alone. We were encouraged to conduct more such raids in prime residential and commercial locations in south Kolkata,” said a KMC assessment department official.

Kolkata civic body defers property tax drive due to Covid-19

But the civic body’s plan to launch a more stringent drive against tax defaulters soon fell through as KMC assessment department inspectors were refused entry into homes by the reported defaulters, citing strict lockdown norms.

“It was a trying time for us as we were simply not allowed to go into the tax defaulters’ offices or residential complexes, citing restrictions to minimize the spread of the novel coronavirus. We could understand it was actually a plea on part of some defaulters but given the situation, we could not serve any notice. We had to retreat,” said a KMC revenue department official. At the same time, some KMC inspectors were also reluctant to visit premises located in high-risk zones, fearing infection.

KMC assessment department officials are now preparing a list of habitual defaulters who will be served notices as soon as the strict lockdown is lifted. In fact, a revenue official said, the civic brass wanted the assessment department team to relaunch their drive from early August.

In the first phase, the KMC plans to mop up a substantial amount from 20 prime wards in south Kolkata. “While preparing the list of major defaulters in south Kolkata, we noticed if we could concentrate on 20 prime south Kolkata wards, we would be able to earn huge revenues,” said a KMC assessment department official.

Revenue department sources said the prime locations would include Park Street, Loudon Street, Theatre Road, Elgin Road, Ballygunge, Rashbehari Avenue and Gariahat. He said that under pressure to increase revenue, which had dropped to an all-time low, the KMC assessment department might get tough with a section of habitual defaulters and even serve a distress warrant to attach their properties in case their dues were not cleared even this time.