MCD struggles to bring all properties under tax net 2 years after scheme was launched

Of the 272 wards in the capital — 104 in North, 104 in South and 64 in East — only 38 have been surveyed so far.

Two years after it was announced, the MCD’s Unique Property Identification Code (UPIC) scheme is moving at a snail’s pace. With the three civic bodies — North, East and South — suffering tax losses, the scheme was aimed at providing a unique identification number to each property. This would have ensured each household pays property tax in accordance with their allotted categories.

Of the 272 wards in the capital — 104 in North, 104 in South and 64 in East — only 38 have been surveyed so far. Approximately 4.47 lakh unique property IDs have been disbursed — most of them to existing taxpayers in the South.

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At the moment, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation has 4.75 lakh people who pay property tax from the 11 lakh households officially under its jurisdiction. The North civic body has approximately 3.35 lakh taxpayers out of 10 lakh properties, while the East body has 2.28 lakh taxpayers out of 4 lakh properties. The corporations had announced the scheme as a “gift” to people on December 25, 2014 — the birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Civic officials said “the process has been delayed because updating old records and removing duplicity took longer than expected. Plus, identifying agencies to conduct on-ground surveys consumed time.”

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North Delhi Commissioner P K Gupta said the delay was being caused by agencies hired for the process. “Our initial deadline was 18 months but that has been crossed. Despite requests and fines to expedite the process, it remains delayed,” he said. Officials in the South said the process is expected to be completed by Febru-ary, 2017. Using maps provided by Geospatial Delhi Limited, private vendors have been surveying areas and assigning numbers to properties. The South corporation had earmarked approximately Rs 10 crore for this project, while the North has put aside about Rs 2 crore.

As per the corporations, property tax forms between one-third and one-fifth of every civic body’s annual revenue. But the figures are based on only an approximate 35 per cent of the population paying taxes. Once the rest of the properties are mapped, the corporation hopes to triple its revenue in the coming years.

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