Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has managed collecting only a little over 22 per cent of holding tax in the last eight months of the current financial year. Holding tax – commercial and residential – is a major revenue component of the civic body besides other heads such as trade licence, advertisement licence, parking fee, user fee and kalyan mandap rent, it was learnt. BMC had set a target of collecting around Rs 500 crore by way of revenue from various heads, including holding tax, in FY 2023-24.
However, it has realised only Rs 70 crore in the last eight months of the current financial year. Similarly, the civic body has realised Rs 26 crore by way of holding tax against a target of Rs 115 crore till November of FY 2023- 24, recording a 22.60 per cent collection, an official said.
BMC had been lagging in the collection of holding tax in the last financial year as well. It had collected Rs 72 crore towards holding tax against the target of Rs 105 crore, registering a 68.57 per cent realisation in 2022-23. With a little over three months left for the current financial year to end, it is nearly impossible on the part of the BMC to meet the target, it was learnt. BMC North Zone has a majority of holding tax defaulters. “Most government establishments and shopping malls under BMC north zone have years of holding tax arrears and dues from the fresh assessment as well,” the official said. To expedite the revenue collection process, the civic body has constituted special squads for each zone. “Each squad, comprising four ward officers among other officials, will directly approach the defaulters to collect dues. As the pension disbursement process is underway inwards, the squads will swing into action after its completion,” said an official.
This apart, BMC will hold special ward-level camps in March for revenue collection. The civic body will register certificate cases against habitual tax defaulters. Staff crunch and transfer of ward officers are mostly being blamed for the dismal revenue collection. BMC sources said as many as 23 ward officers had been reshuffled on zone level May 24 this year following allegations of dereliction of duty. “Ward officers are facing a tough time identifying the defaulters in the newly deployed wards, leading to poor revenue collection,” said an official. There are 34 ward officers for 67 wards under BMC. The official said, “Each ward officer has to look after 2-3 wards’ affairs – inspecting status of ground-level sanitation, streetlights and other enforcement works. Engagement of ward officers in a host of issues has also been hindering revenue collection.”
Earlier in the year, the civic body had launched a special campaign – Revenue Day – across all 67 municipal wards to raise awareness among citizens about the importance of paying taxes. As part of the campaign, a group of municipal officials, led by a senior finance officer from BMC, and local corporators visited the wards Saturdays and held meetings with the locals, volunteers and the ward members on the matter. The campaign, however, failed to achieve its goal.