Navi Mumbai: Survey of 1.5 lakh Panvel plots done; Kharghar next

Dr Ganesh Deshmukh, PMC Commissioner

Come January 2020 and people residing or operating a commercial establishment/industrial unit in a 26 sq km area under the Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) will come under the ambit of property tax. It will, however, be levied retrospectively from 2016, when the PMC came into being. The areas of Panvel city and New Panvel, who have been paying property tax to the Panvel Municipal Council, will be exempted from this retrospective taxation.

"We should have begun levying property tax since the formation of the corporation. But the PMC did not do it for the first two years. It will be a major source of revenue generation for the corporation from 2020," said PMC Commissioner Dr Ganesh Deshmukh. The taxes recovered for 2016-20, however, will be interest-free, he said.

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The PMC has hired the services of an Amravati-based company for geographical mapping survey of the entire PMC area. This will include open plots which will be numbered and linked through Google search. "This will help us in knowing if any open plot gets a structure in future and we can then levy property tax accordingly," Deshmukh said.

At present, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) levies development charges (for using CIDCO land) to residents and establishment owners in the city areas. While the CIDCO's development charge is payable yearly by society on behalf of the flat occupants, "property tax levied on the structure above land is payable by each and every occupant individually," explained S Mankame, Superintendent (Tax), PMC. Over three lakh properties are expected to get surveyed in the PMC areas, work on which has already started, PMC sources told mid-day. Around 1.5 lakh properties across Panvel (Old and New) and Kalamboli have been surveyed so far. Kharghar and its surroundings are next in line.

"The company hired for the GIS mapping will be paid Rs 367 per property and the PMC's revenue generation with the property taxes is anticipated to be around Rs 200 crore," a senior civic official said.

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However, the commissioner said that it will take another "two months to have clarity on the data after which the assessments bills will be issued."

The revenue collected by PMC at present is around Rs 15 to Rs 25 crore annually. The PMC exchequer plans to use the money generated from property taxes for the construction of public toilets, street lights, sewage treatment plants, improving road connectivity in the 23 villages under it.

People paying the property tax online will also be given a two per cent discount to encourage digital transactions. War widows will be given full exemption from payment of property tax and residential colonies of armed forces will get some discount and disable defence personnel is likely to get certain concessions too.

A civic officer hinted that only the usable carpet area of the house/commercial establishment will be considered for ascertaining the property tax and not the saleable area. Residents who have covered their open terrace or flower bed will stand to pay more this way.

Did you know?

Panvel Municipal Council was formed on August 25, 1852, as the first municipal council in the country. The initial notification for converting the municipal council into a municipal corporation came in 1991 but it was eventually upgraded in 2016. It is the first municipal corporation in Raigad district and includes over 23 revenue villages of Panvel taluka along with CIDCO colonies of Kharghar, Kalamboli etc.

Rs 200 crore
Amount the PMC may earn with the property taxes

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