Get ready to pay higher property tax

With elections over and no vote bank to please, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is all set to hike the property tax by almost 24 per cent, reports Neelam Pandey.

With elections over and no vote bank to please, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is all set to hike the property tax by almost 24 per cent.

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“Property tax is the main source of revenue for MCD and a hike in unit area values should be linked to the consumer price index, ” said a senior MCD official on condition of anonymity, as he is not authorised to speak to the media. “The Delhi Municipal Act mandates it.”

Unable to hike the tax in the last five years — first because of municipal polls in 2005, then the assembly elections last year and the Lok Sabha elections that just concluded — the MCD’s executive wing is determined to increase it now.

The legislative wing of the civic body rejected the proposal earlier.

But well-placed sources said Municipal Commissioner KS Mehra will be tabling the proposal once again before the MCD’s standing committee for acceptance.

In case the proposal is rejected again, the commissioner will approach the Lt Governor directly for intervention, sources said.