By IANS,
New Delhi : Only 25 percent of the properties in the national capital are paying property tax, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) told the Central Information Commission (CIC), which has termed the revelation “startling”.
The revelation was made during a hearing of an appeal filed by an RTI applicant, Naved Ahmed, who sought information regarding property tax of a particular property in Okhla village.
Municipalities levy tax on properties within their jurisdiction on the basis of their value. It is a major source of income for the civic agency.
“The respondent (MCD) states that until 2004, the property tax department used to send bills to the owners of property…. After 2004, when self-assessment scheme was implemented, the MCD has not been able to clearly identify which properties have paid property tax,” noted information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi in his order dated March 25.
“The respondent admits that whereas there are about 40 lakh (four million) properties in Delhi, only about nine lakh pay property tax. This is indeed a startling revelation and if the city taxes less than 25 percent of properties it is a very sad comment on the way it is being administered,” he added.