Amritsar Municipal Corporation to link all properties in city with unique identification number

In a significant move towards enhancing urban governance and increasing efficiency in tax collection, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has announced the initiation of a city-wide project to link all residential, commercial and industrial properties with a unique identification (UID) number. The goal is to create a comprehensive property database that streamlines municipal services and strengthens revenue generation mechanisms.

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A meeting led by MC Commissioner Gulpreet Singh Aulakh with officials from the Property Tax Department and the Geographic Information System (GIS) Cell of the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC) was held here today. The key agenda was the integration of UID numbers with properties to enable more efficient collection of property tax, water and sewerage charges and trade licence fee management.

During the meeting, Simarjeet Kaur, in-charge of the IT Cell at the PMIDC, and Anup Kaur, in-charge of the GIS Cell, shared technical insights on the UID integration process through video conferencing. They presented a roadmap on how property data could be digitally mapped and interlinked using the GIS technology, allowing better transparency and accountability.

MC Commissioner Gulpreet Singh Aulakh highlighted a crucial concern in the existing system that the civic body was unable to accurately identify defaulters in tax property collection, water and sewerage charges and trade licence fee. He recalled that back in 2013-14, the Municipal Corporation had conducted a citywide property survey through Map My India, during which UID numbers were initially assigned to properties. However, the integration of these UID numbers into the municipal database was never fully implemented.

Now, the MC plans to relink all properties with their assigned UID numbers as per the earlier survey and ensure updated data alignment. The Commissioner instructed the Property Tax Department to complete the UID mapping before initiating the next round of tax recovery. He also emphasised that taxpayers should be informed about their respective UID numbers to ensure clarity and accountability during payment.

The UID numbers will also be synchronised with water, sewerage and trade licence records, ensuring that a single, centralised data point is available for all municipal services. This integrated approach is expected to significantly enhance the accuracy of data and increase municipal revenue by curbing tax evasion and identifying unregistered properties.

Aulakh also appealed to residents and business owners to cooperate with the Municipal Corporation by ensuring that their properties were linked to UID numbers before making payments for property tax, water and sewerage charges or trade licence fee. He assured full support from MC officials to the PMIDC during the linking process.