This even as the administration has now asked senior officers to educate people and stakeholders about the tax which is being imposed for the first time in J&K. Even the mayors and deputy commissioners of Srinagar and Jammu are being briefed about the taxes.
As the Jammu & Kashmir administration clarified that property taxes to be imposed here will be the lowest in the country, mayors and corporators of Srinagar municipal corporation and Jammu mayor said they won’t implement the order.
This even as the administration has now asked senior officers to educate people and stakeholders about the tax which is being imposed for the first time in J&K. Even the mayors and deputy commissioners of Srinagar and Jammu are being briefed about the taxes.
The administration is eyeing a substantial revenue increase from the property tax to be imposed in Srinagar and Jammu cities and other municipalities in the UT.
Jammu mayor Rajinder Sharma said that soon after the administration issued a notification for imposition of property tax from April 1, he was the first to announce that they won’t implement this tax. “The government has now amended the rules and property tax can be imposed without resolution being passed by corporators,” he said. “The administration can now supersede us (corporators),” he added.
Sharma said that if they (corporators) create any impediment, then the administration can stop our funds. “After studying the proposal, I think the tax won’t be a big burden on the people. We hope to raise ₹30 to 35 crores annually from the property tax,” said Sharma, adding that money will be utilised for the benefit of the people. “I think we can’t stop this tax.”
Soon after the annocement of a new tax, Srinagar mayor and deputy mayor said the corporation won’t implement the property tax. “Imposition of property tax in J&K is ironically violative of municipal empowerment as this has neither been deliberated upon, nor approved by elected urban local bodies. While Srinagar MC will explore ways to contest this arbitrary move, I am writing to the Hon’ble LG seeking a withdrawal of the SO,” tweeted City Mayor Junaid Azeem Mattu. Deputy mayor Pervaz Qadri went a step further, saying they will reject the proposal and asked people not to panic. “People need to understand that imposition of property tax is only SO of Govt & before implementation that has to be first passed by SMC; we are rejecting the proposal even at its arrival & it won’t get consent of corporators to get it passed by SMC. People should not get panicked,” he tweeted hours after order was issued.
The government has now issued a clarification saying that there won’t be property tax for small houses but small businesses will have to pay a meagre amount.
In a meeting chaired by the chief secretary Arun Kumar Mehta on Thursday, it was clarified that all poor, marginalised persons having small houses on area up to 1,000 square feet have been exempted from paying the property tax.
The meeting was attended by additional chief secretary, home; principal secretary, H&UDD; ADGP Jammu/Kashmir; deputy commissioners; SSPs; commissioners of Jammu and Srinagar municipal corporations and other officers concerned.
The government, by imposing the property tax, is hoping to raise 120 to 150 crores annually which will be used to improve financial conditions of urban local bodies to make them self-sustaining as other parts of the country.
Principal secretary, housing and urban development department, Rajesh Prasad said there is no tax liability for those having built-up area of their houses less than 1,000 square feet besides the proportion of taxes is considerably less than what is levied in other parts of the country.
