ULBs begin house tax recovery drive

Lucknow: In a mammoth exercise, the urban local bodies across the state have started approaching property owners to recover pending house tax.

Launched on July 15, the special drive will continue till July 31, and notices and bills will be served to the owners who are yet to pay their dues.

In 17 key cities of UP that are managed by municipal corporations, more than 55 lakh properties will have to be covered. With a total of 762 urban local bodies, the major chunk of the revenue is generated through these 17 cities.

It is estimated that the remaining 199 municipal councils and 545 town councils have an additional 30 lakh to 35 lakh properties.

"But the contribution of the medium and small local bodies is insignificant at present. We are trying to provide them with the resources and skill set required to collect taxes from an increased number of localities. But it can only be done in areas where some facilities and amenities have been provided," said a senior officer.

During the last financial year (April 1 to Sep 30 of 2024), ULBs across UP were able to collect Rs 1,401 crore, scoring 33% more money compared to the previous year. This time, the target has been set at Rs 1,862 crore.

Director of urban local bodies Anuj Jha said: "Through regular monitoring and sustained efforts, we were able to achieve significantly higher revenue in the last financial year. This time, we have already started strengthening the revenue streams and will also focus on covering an increased number of localities in medium and small towns."

Through property tax and other taxes and charges, the ULBs raked in Rs 5,568 crore as consolidated revenue in the 2024-25 financial year, registering a growth of 21%.

Meanwhile, the concerned zonal officials, executive officials and tax assessors have been asked to organise camps to sort out the grievances of the residents who approach them. Post geographic information survey-based assessment, the house tax values of lakhs of properties were revised upwards in the 14 key cities, and many owners have sought explanations from the civic officials as a result.