Hubli
The Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) intends to increase its revenue, is gearing up to conduct a comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS) survey of properties within the twin cities, to bring all properties under the tax net. The officials are currently preparing to invite a tender for the survey, which will involve the use of drones, physical door-to-door visits, and the integration of existing property data with the newly collected survey information.
It is estimated that more than 40 percent of properties in the twin cities are not currently included in the tax net. If the survey is conducted effectively, the HDMC anticipates a significant increase in tax collection, potentially reaching over Rs 350 crore from the current demand of Rs 141 crore for 2024-25.
According to the current records, the HDMC has a total of 3,38,602 properties under the tax net, including 1,81,148 residential properties, 34,798 commercial properties, and 1,22,656 vacant sites. Due to the lack of a proper survey for identifying all properties, the HDMC collects taxes only on properties which are registered and available in records.
Corporators have been demanding a GIS survey for over a decade due to the low revenue generated from property taxes. However, officials were hesitant to survey due to the high expenses involved. Now, with the approval from the corporators, the officials have decided to take up survey and will float a tender within a couple of weeks, sources said.
