Bangalore civic body is up to ‘embarrassing’ things

To impel property tax defaulters to pay the dues, by embarrassing them, the city corporation has gone ahead with its plan to publish the names of the defaulters in newspapers.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP) has identified 43 major defaulters and started giving their details to the media. At the revenue department’s review meeting on December 19, BBMP commissioner MK Shankarlinge Gowda took stock of property tax collection for 2011-12. He said the names of the organisations that have not paid property tax for two years or owe more than Rs10 lakh as tax would be sent to newspapers for publishing. He asked the officials to furnish him the details of the defaulters.

Gowda added that notices should be served to the apartments, tech parks, malls, multiplexes, choultries, hotels, lodges, commercial complexes, nursing homes, hospitals and industrial buildings housing IT, BT companies that are out of the BBMP’s tax net. Further, he said notices should be served to tax defaulters before January 15, 2012.

Gowda directed the officials to collect `600 crore that various organisations owe the Palike as property tax, before March 31, 2012. Further, he directed the zonal joint commissioners to verify the property tax that was declared through Self-Assessment Scheme.  Also, he directed the officers to complete the validation programme to provide PID number for all the properties identified through geographic information system.