Amritsar Municipal Corporation preparing proposal to outsource property tax collection

The Municipal Corporation (MC) is preparing to privatise property tax collection in a bid to increase its revenue. A six-member committee has been formed to draft a request for proposal (RFP) aimed at outsourcing the task. The committee includes Additional MC Commissioner, Joint MC Commissioner, three Assistant MC Commissioners and a Deputy Controller of Finance and Accounts (DCFA).

The committee will soon present a formal proposal to the Municipal Commissioner, after which it will be tabled in the next General House meeting of the civic body for approval. If the proposal gets the approval of the MC House, tenders will be invited from private companies for property tax collection. Although no official deadline has been set for submitting the proposal, sources indicate that the plan to hand over tax recovery to private agencies is in its final stages.

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“The Municipal Corporation has some officials who have been able to recover double the property tax amount as compared to last year, but they are being sidelined. Private firms can’t compete with the experienced civic body staff.“ An MC official

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The move, however, has raised several questions. MC officials pointed out that the five city zones already had assistant commissioners, superintendents and inspectors who had consistently met and often exceeded the corporation’s revenue targets by up to 10 per cent annually. This brings into question the very need for privatisation. Some officials working in the property tax wing of the MC claimed that efficient officials, who gave good results in the past, were being ignored.

“The MC has some officials who have been able to recover double the property tax amount as compared to last year, but they are being sidelined. Private firms can’t compete with the experienced MC staff,” said an MC official.

The Congress leaders and councillors are also criticising the MC’s move. Former Senior Deputy Mayor Raman Bakshi flayed the move, stating that when all property tax data was already recovered and available, why can’t the existing municipal officials manage the collections themselves?

He warned that privatisation would open the door to widespread blackmail. “If everything is privatised, what supervisory role will be left for government officers and staff? They might as well be privatised too,” Bakshi said. He alleged that private agents could demand bribes under the threat of placing properties under scrutiny. Bakshi said after bringing proposal to the MC House, a lengthy procedure would follow to scrutinise it.

Amritsar