Bhubaneswar: Revenue collection by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has surpassed the`100-crore mark for the first time with the holding tax collection setting a record of `35.07 crore, prompting the civic body authorities to undertake more citizen-centric projects.
According to BMC sources, the total revenue collection of `100.13 crore comprises `70.92 crore tax revenue and `29.20 crore non-tax revenue for 2016-17 fiscal. The tax components include holding tax `35.07 crore, user charges `9.79 crore, advertising tax `15.85 crore, trade licence `3.91 crore, licence fees on right of way (ROW) `0.90 crore, parking fees `2.41 crore, BMC market rent ` 1.3 crore and other tax revenue ` 1.64 crore.
The civic body, which now targets a revenue collection of `130 crore for 2017-18 fiscal, is planning to invest more in citizen-centric projects.
Municipal Commissioner Krishan Kumar said, “BMC will invest more on pro-people projects and create more green cover across the city. We will develop more number of parks so that people will get more space for recreation and stay fit and healthy.”
Currently, the civic body is taking care of 30 parks and other public places in the Capital.
Sources at BMC said holding tax collection during 2016-17 fiscal witnessed a rise by about `12 crore than the previous fiscal. This year many defaulters have paid their arrears, they added.
Secondly, advertising revenue collection has also notched up by `5 crore more than the previous fiscal, thanks to stricter monitoring and adoption of online self declaration system.
Parking fee collection also rose by `1.5 crore due to introduction of public private partnership (PPP) system. Markets also provided the required push as leasing out of property at BMC-Bhawani Mall in Sahid Nagar became successful.
BMC Additional Commissioner Alok Kumar Kar said, “The state government has already designated three zonal deputy commissioners as special certificate officers under the Orissa Public Demand Recovery Act-1962 and if needed, they may order seizure of property of defaulters. We are going to implement the Act this year to further boost the revenue collection.”
Revenue Expert in-charge of Tax Reforms at BMC Bibhu Behura said though there are about 73,000 holdings (houses paying holding tax) in the city, the number may to up to one lakh if proper assessment is done and new holdings come under the tax net.
Once all the holdings come under the ambit of the tax base, the civic body would get around `60 crore from holding tax alone.
Notably, holdings are being digitally validated under the e-Municipality scheme so that mismatch between tax assessment and real collection, if any, could be compared and collections enhanced.
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