A number of Government departments and authorities in Dehradun have not paid property tax on their office buildings to the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD). The MCD had issued notices to about 92 such departments and bodies following which some of them have paid the property tax. However, major bodies including the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) have not yet paid the property tax to the corporation. According to officials, the delay in the submission of the tax by these institutions is posing hindrance to the MCD in meeting its target of collecting Rs 75 crore in property tax by the end of March.
Recently, the MCD also sent a notice to Dehradun Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT) and Big Bazaar too regarding the property tax which is pending for more than two years. The total property tax of both properties including the penalty is about Rs 40 lakh and 50 lakh respectively. The Corporation also served a Rs 1.5 crore property tax bill to the Forest Research Institute (FRI) on Tuesday which is due for two years. Reportedly, MCD will also serve a notice to the State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (SIIDCUL) soon.
Non-residential properties generate a lot more revenue than residential properties which contribute considerably to the overall collection of the property tax by the corporation. Property tax amounting to about Rs 8 crore is pending from governmental, semi governmental and aided institutions in the city. The MCD had issued notices to 92 such institutions including the Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation, Uttarakhand Transport Corporation, State Police Complaints Authority and many more, according to the sources. Property tax is one of the important revenue sources of the corporation and the amount of tax from these departments and authorities will strengthen the chances of the corporation achieving its target of collecting Rs 75 crore in property tax, an amount which is about three times more than the amount of property tax collected last year.
The mayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’ has extended the period of 20 per cent rebate on property tax four times this year so that residential as well as non-residential taxpayers are inclined to paying their property taxes on time. It appears that only the citizens of Dehradun are taking advantage of the rebate and paying their taxes while the Government departments are still waiting to clear their dues. So far, the MCD has collected more than Rs 40 crore and penalty will be imposed on the taxpayers who submit the tax after March.