NEW DELHI: The proposal made in South Delhi Municipal Corporation’s annual budget to increase property tax levied on residential and commercial properties, has been rejected by the Leader of House who finalised it on Thursday, officials said.
The SDMC on Thursday also announced that tax on one property will be exempted for native residents living in rural areas of south Delhi.
The move comes ahead of the civic polls in Delhi due in April. Recently, the EDMC too had rejected a hike in property tax, which was proposed in its budget in November.
Leader of House in the BJP-led South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), Inderjeet Sehrawat on Thursday finalised the SDMC Budget, after making several proposals, including “increasing the budget for moral education from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 25 lakh” in SDMC schools.
The Leader of House has not accepted the proposal to hike property tax, the SDMC said in a statement.
Seeking to augment its revenue, SDMC Commissioner Gyanesh Bharati on November 23 had proposed to increase property tax levied on residential and commercial properties, and reduce the number of rate slabs from three to two.
The budget had proposed increase in property tax as follows: 14 per cent tax for residential properties in A-E category and 12 per cent in F-H category.
Currently, 12 per cent tax is charged in A-B category, 11 per cent in C-E category and seven per cent in F-H category. Similarly, it was proposed for commercial properties as well.
The SDMC in its statement on Friday also said that according to the final budget, “partial recommendations of MVC-III (Municipal Valuation Committee-III should not be implemented under Section 177 of DMC Act”.
Also, the last date for availing the amnesty scheme for payment of property tax with 100 per cent waiver of both interest and penalty, to March 31, it said.
The last date earlier was January 31.
The Leader of House also proposed to start special yoga centres at SDMC parks for citizens. Initially, one yoga centre will be started in each ward. SDMC has 104 wards in total.
“We have also proposed a model English medium school in each ward. Proposal is also to regularise dengue breeding checking (DBC) workers and their staff,” he said.
A number of discussions were held since the budget was first presented late November, and suggestions made accordingly, before being finalised by the Leader of House.
During the discussion, he also proposed that no fee shall be charged for SDMC officials, its employees and their families for entering ‘Waste To Wonder’ Park and Bharat Darshan Park.
Proposal was also made to set up blood pressure and sugar level testing machines at least at two locations in each ward, for needy patients so they could avail free of cost testing facilities.
Leader of House also proposed to give bicycles to class 4 students, and said bicycles will be given to top 10 students (five boys and five Girls), based on their academic performance in class 3.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in SDMC and AAP councillor Prem Chauhan alleged that the SDMC budget is a “living expression of the BJP’s fraudulent promises, which it has been making in the corporation for the past 15 years. Only future plans have been presented in this document. What promises did they make previously, and how many of those they fulfilled, they did not specify anywhere.”
Clearly, they have “not been able to keep any of their promises”. Employees, particularly sanitation warriors, have not been given even the most basic of facilities, he claimed.
He also alleged that the budget has failed to provide any suggestion or policy to combat corruption in the corporation.
Sehrawat, in the budget, also proposed a fund of Rs 5 lakh for each councillor to use it to eliminate dark spots in in the streets in his or her ward.
Treatment of SDMC councilors at CGHS rate ar SDMC-empanelled hospitals and testing laboratories has also been proposed.
He also proposed booking of air-conditioned community centres on normal rates so poor people could also afford to book air-conditioned community halls on rates for non-AC halls.
Source: Press Trust of India