Dharamsala MC to geo-tag properties to impose tax

The Dharamsala Municipal Corporation (MC) has ordered a fresh survey for the geo-tagging of all properties in the city. The geo-tagging exercise will help the MC to impose taxes on properties located within its limits.

Sources say that the company that has been given the task of geo-tagging all properties in Dharamsala will start the work after September 15. It will use drones to geo-tag the properties. The MC has not been able to impose property tax on properties in areas that were merged with it in 2015 when it was upgraded from a municipal council. Eight villages located in the vicinity of Dharamsala were included in the MC limits. The government had exempted these areas from paying property tax for two years till 2017. The exemption limit was further increased by two years till 2019.

Though all people residing in the merged areas became liable to pay property tax in 2019, the local body till date had not been able charge tax from them due to the lack of data. The project to identify and geo-tag all properties within the MC limits was initially allotted to a company under the Dharamsala Smart City project. However, that company failed to execute the work after which its contact was cancelled. Now, the MC has given a fresh contract for geo-tagging all properties in the city so that property tax can be imposed to boost the income of the local body.

Meanwhile, Municipal Commissioner Zafar Iqbal said that the work to geo-tag all properties in the city was likely to start after September 15. “It will be done with the help of drones and we hope to geo-tag and map all properties in Dharamsala city. Once the data is collected, we will start imposing property tax on all properties in the city,” he added.

The MC has passed resolutions and urged the government to waive property tax for the period of Covid outbreak from 2019 to 2020. However, the government till date has not responded to the resolutions and people will become liable to pay property tax from 2019 onwards once it is imposed. The residents of the merged areas have been resisting taxes on the plea that they have hardly got any facility as provided in urban areas after merger with the MC.

The work to begin after Sept 15

• The company that has been given the task of geo-tagging all properties in Dharamsala will start the work after September 15.
• The MC has not been able to impose property tax on properties in areas that were merged with it in 2015 when it was upgraded from a municipal council.
• Government had exempted these areas from paying property tax for two years till 2017. The exemption limit was further increased by two years till 2019.