KOLKATA: The Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC), for the first time, will engage women from self-help groups for house-to-house property tax collection across Salt Lake and Rajarhat-Gopalpur.
“There are many tax payers who are not familiar with the online payment system. Women from self-help groups will be engaged, who will make door-to-door visits to assist taxpayers in paying their quarterly property tax bills on the spot. An app will be downloaded in their mobiles through which they can pay their tax,” said BMC MMIC Debraj Chakraborty.
Officials said not only assisting taxpayers, the self-help group members will also be handed a list of those who have tax dues left to be paid so that they can visit those houses and collect the dues. “Often tax payers get confused as to what will be the actual tax to be paid, including dues. The self-help group women will have a list along with the exact amount to be paid by tax payers,” said an official.
The civic body on Thursday proposed to raise property tax collection target from Rs 40 crore last year to Rs 44 crore for the coming financial year.
“Until last year, residents of BMC wards 27 and 28, covering Mahisbathan and Nayapatti, did not pay property taxes. They used to pay ‘khajna’. Now, we have started the process of sending bills to residents of wards 27 and 28,” said a BMC official.
