Jagitial: Eleventh hour property tax collection drive gives jitters to people

Jagitial: The tax collection drive of municipal officials for the past several days is giving jitters to the people.

According to the municipal officials, there are about 25,000 commercial and residential properties that they have to collect about Rs 12.40 crore towards the annual house tax collections. However, to date, the officials could collect only Rs 6.65 crore from 18,000 residential taxpayers.

With the financial year to end in the next couple of days, the officials have woken up and gone on a collection drive, slapping notices and locking up the shops for non-payment of taxes.

It may be mentioned here that the functioning of the municipal body had recently come to a grinding halt following the resignation episode of its former municipal chairman. The laxity on the part of the municipal officials further compounded the problem of the poor collection of taxes.

However, following a stern warning issued by the District Collector to ensure 100 per cent collection of taxes has led to municipal officials hitting the streets for collecting taxes, slapping notices and locking up shops on account of non-payment of taxes.

The tax collection overdrive and highhandedness of the civic body officials are coming under sharp criticism from the people questioning what have they been doing for the whole year?

The officials were reportedly seen reaching out to the people for tax collections from last Sunday. The same collection drive might have been carried out in January, then waking up at the eleventh hour for collection of pending dues was the criticism that the officials are facing from the people. The municipal official's officials are to collect a pending tax due to the tune of Rs 5.75 by March 31.