Beginning August, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC) would start its ambitious plan to digitise all residential and commercial properties within its limits.
The initiative, which is the first-of-its-kind, would issue a unique number to each of these properties, including those in the unauthorised colonies, which do not have a house number till date. According to estimates, there are over 12 lakh properties under the jurisdiction of NMC out of which approximately three lakh properties are unaccounted. The digitisation would enable the civic body maintain a record of all properties and collect property tax without fail. This, officials said, will add significantly to the revenue generation for the Corporation. Sources said only three lakh of the estimated 12 lakh properties in NMC areas pay the property tax.
The surveying agency will start door-to-door identification of the properties and issue them a unique identification code that will contain minute details pertaining to a particular property. It will procure handheld equipment that will measure the area of the plot on the spot and calculate the tax amount. The idea is to bring maximum number of properties under the tax net. The agency will map the buildings and on the basis of its size and other factors, print out a bill on the spot. The Corporation will be spending Rs 10 crore for surveying the properties. Officials said the handheld devices will be GPS-enabled so that the data captured from it can also be transferred on real-time basis to the property tax server at the data centre of the Corporation.
Additional Commissioner MSA Khan said a private agency named ‘Data World’ has been hired after the tendering process and the company would begin the work from August. “The agency will begin with the preparatory works from August and the actual survey would begin from November this year. The agency has been given the target to survey 12 lakh properties within 18 months from the day the contract has been awarded,” Khan said. He said all property owners will also be issued a pass book to maintain the records of their tax payments. It took nearly 15 months for the Corporation to materialise the plan.
According to officials, the unique identification code would help in digitising the record of the properties in North Delhi areas. “We aim to bring each property on record under the jurisdiction of NDMC so that appropriate tax is collected from them. The UPIC of a particular property shall be used for paying tax and dues, seeking any licence or permission for any service and for all official purposes,” the Additional Commissioner said. As per estimates, nearly 40 lakh properties exist in the Capital but only 10 lakh properties are assessed for property tax in the absence of proper data.