MCT launches special drive to improve vacant land tax collections in pilgrim city

Tirupati: In an effort to increase its revenue, the Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT) has launched a special drive to improve the collection of vacant land tax.

Presently, the collection of vacant land tax is Rs 4.5 crore annually from 1,900 vacant site owners and the Corporation aimed to get Rs 10 crore additionally i.e. about Rs 14.5 crore totally as vacant land tax.

But the MCT estimates that there are 6,000 vacant lands that are to be brought under tax purview in the corporation limits mostly in the grama panchayats that were merged with the corporation some 15 years ago.

However, identifying the owners of vacant land in the city is not an easy task for the corporation as the owners were living elsewhere.

Against this backdrop, the corporation decided to take the help of stamps and registration department for collection of vacant land tax from those site owners not paying it. The recent government order, directing the sub-registrars to seek the vacant tax receipt also for registration sale-purchase of lands in urban areas came handy to the corporation to improve its vacant land tax.

As a follow up, Municipal Commissioner D Haritha held a meeting with sub-registrars of Renigunta, Tirupati Urban and Tirupati Rural on the direction of IG stamps and registration instructing the sub-registrars on vacant land tax collection.

She requested the sub-registrars to follow stamps and registration IG instructions and insist on providing the details of vacant land tax paid (receipt) and said this would see all the owners of vacant lands pay tax and get the details of land.

If the vacant site is in a layout, the LP number should be given at the time of registration, she explained seeking the registration department’s cooperation for improving tax collections in the city.

Deputy Commissioner Chandramouleswar Reddy said that efforts are on to identify all the owners of 6,000 vacant sites in the city to bring them under tax bracket. The recent registration and stamps department order will surely drive the land owners to approach the MCT for payment of tax and get the details of which required for the registration of sale-purchase of the site.

In another 9 months, he said, “We hope to complete the process of identifying all the vacant site owners to levy tax. This would help the corporation to get Rs 10 crore additional income annually.”

It may be noted that the corporation also collects the property tax from 74,000 buildings in the city which is Rs 60 crore.