New property tax scheme under dispute

Kolkata

With the city poised for a change in the property tax assessment procedure, the civic headquarters at S N Banerjee Road is flooded with queries from citizens over the parameters that have divided Kolkata into seven zones (A to G) based on the level of development that is likely to determine the tax for each locality.

For instance, a host of citizens have questioned KMC’s decision to club Southern Avenue, a posh locality in south Kolkata, with neighbouring localities such as Sadananda Road or Pratapaditya Road under Category C, when the latter are no match for Southern Avenue, if real estate prices are anything to go by.

“How can a posh locality, namely Southern Avenue, be treated on a par with Pratapaditya Road, when residents of the former have better amenities than those residing at the neighbouring areas?” questioned Suman Chatterjee, a resident of Pratapaditya Place. Chatterjee has sent his objection to the KMC authorities. Similar objections have reached the KMC headquarters from residents of Sadananda Road, urging the civic body to either upgrade Southern Avenue to Category B, or place Sadananda Road under Category D.

Similar objections and suggestions are coming from 3,000 property owners across the city after KMC invited suggestions from citizens before it makes amends to its draft proposal. Some, however, have urged KMC to come clear on the parameters that were used to categorise the seven tax zones that civic authorities in other metros made public before introducing the new system.

According to a member of the seven-member municipal valuation committee, that has devised the parameters, necessary changes would be made in the assessment procedure, taking into account the objections and suggestions from citizens.

The huge response has prompted the civic authorities to arrange for “special hearing” sessions for citizens before the change-over to the new assessment method. “We have arranged for such special hearings at each corporation borough from the last week of November. This is the primary level. Later, we plan to arrange for a hearing session at Town Hall, where citizens can air their suggestions or grievances. The interaction will help us make the necessary amendments before we embrace the unit-area based assessment,” a senior official of KMC’s assessment department said.

KMC has sent all the suggestions in this regard to the three-member review committee set up to examine the suggestions and address anomalies. The committee — of which economist Avirup Sarkar is a member — will scan citizens’ feedback before it recommends changes.

The Trinamool Congress-run KMC board is in no hurry to introduce the UAA method for determination of property tax. Though Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee wants mayor Sovan Chatterjee to adopt the new area-wise method, Chatterjee is waiting for feedback from experts before announcing the switchover.

MMiC Debabrata Majumder, who’s a member of the review committee, however, felt it was too early to introduce the new method. He said that though the city had been divided into seven zones and prices fixed for each zone, the entire exercise might undergo a change after receiving citizens’ feedback.

Compiled by Mr. Ulaganathan