Bhubaneswar: The civic authority here has extended the date of submission of proposals for Self Help Groups (SHGs) and other area-level organisations for collection of holding tax from houses as well as trade license fees from business establishments.
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) earlier in September had invited proposals from individual agencies to collect the holding as well as trade license fees. While the last date of submission of proposals was October 16, it has been extended to October 21.
An important component of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) revenue earning, holding tax is collected from people on basis of area of the house, shops or commercial establishment.
“To have fair and competitive process we are expecting more agencies to participate and so we have extended the deadline. We have issued expression of interest inviting SHGs to come and take the responsibility. They will be selected through a competitive bidding process,” a senior official at the BMC said.
The civic body also stated in its official website that only registered self help groups will be eligible to apply for the job. The members will serve notices to houses and conduct door-to-door collection using the hand-held and PoS devices provided by BMC.
Sources said the move came after the civic body showed a dismal performance in collection of holding tax from houses. Earlier this year when the BMC released its list, the defaulted amount came up to Rs. 9.33 crores, an amount similar to what was reported last year.