Get ready to pay house tax at Re 1 per square yard

Amidst total chaos in the House,Mayor Subhash Chawla announced the passing of agenda items from 5 to 13. The house tax that was the 12th item on the agenda was passed in an arbitrary manner with none of the councillors getting a chance to debate the issue. In fact,the issue affecting thousands of city residents did not merit even a mention at the meeting. As many as 30 agenda items were passed without any discussion.

The houses below five marla as well as those in the villages and colonies have been exempted from the tax. However,people residing in other areas will have to bear the brunt of the tax. There are a total of 81,609 houses that will fall under the ambit of house tax. For all houses measuring two kanals and above,the tax is fixed at Rs 1,000 annually. For the others,it will be Re 1 per sq yard annually. The MC is expected to collect a total of Rs 2.27 crore through imposition of the tax.

There are 20,265 marla and kanal houses,7,979 houses in co-operative societies,5,597 MIG houses,10,675 HIG houses,15,053 houses under the administration and 22,040 under the Central government.

The agenda had been proposed by the nominated councillors after a meeting with Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Shivraj V Patil. While it was to be a part of the meeting held in January,the meeting was adjourned following which no discussion could take place.

On Thursday,as the BJP councillors were demanding more time to speak on the budget after it was passed,a ruckus was created in the House. The BJP-SAD councillors had collected in front of the Mayor and heated arguments were taking place. Amidst the din,Mayor Subhash Chawla announced the passing of all the agenda items. These also included the issue of house tax. The nominated councillors and the Congress councillors supported the passing of the agenda.

Immediately after announcing passing of all the agenda items including imposition of house tax,the national anthem was played signalling the end of the meeting.

After becoming mayor,Chawla had assured that no new tax would be imposed in his tenure.

The BJP and SAD members raised slogans against the decision. As the meeting ended,the councillors sat outside the mayor’s office,raising slogans. The councillors along with other BJP councillors sat in front of the mayor’s car.

The imposition of house tax is one of the conditions under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The Centre as well as the UT Administration had been sending repeated reminders to the MC for imposing the tax. During a recent meeting of the mayor and the administrator,the mayor was directed to ensure that house tax is imposed. He was told that otherwise the administration would take some action on its own.