Vijayawada Municipal Corporation focuses on Rs 135-crore vacant land tax dues

Vijayawada: The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) has yet to receive Rs 135 crore towards vacant land tax and property tax from various individuals and public institutions.  Following fund crunch, the VMC has decided to launch special drive to collect these dues. Interestingly, government institutions stand first in the defaulters’ list. Out of the Rs 86.93 crore vacant land tax dues, the VMC was able to realise Rs 3.80 crore, which is 4.37 per cent dues that too, after Mr. Nivas took charge as the commissioner recently.

The VMC revenue department assessed that there were around 15,284 vacant lands under the VMC limits. For the year 2016-17, the identified vacant land assessments are 15,370 and the actual demand was Rs 79,48,63,128. Out of that, 13.51 per cent - Rs 10,73,82,000 was recently realised. For the year 2017-18, till date, identified vacant land assessments in the VMC limits are 15,284, and the demand till date is Rs 86,93,41,897.  Out of that, 4.37 per cent - Rs 3,80,27,882 has been realised.

The VMC authorities have started negotiating first with placing boards in the vacant lands, alerting the land owners to pay dues immediately. In the three circles of VMC, so far 300 such boards have been erected. A government training institute located near Ramesh Hospitals has to pay Rs 8 crore towards vacant land dues, he added. The officials stated they were facing difficulties in identifying the real owners of the vacant lands, as the registration department is not providing the details from time to time about the sale of the lands. “We are not in a position to trace the real owners of several  vacant lands in the VMC limits,” he explained. The same issue has been taken to the notice of VMC commissioner and he is trying to evolve a mechanism to address the issue on a war footing, the official said.

Government bodies owe Rs 51 crore property tax dues:

Despite incessant efforts, the VMC has not been able to collect around Rs 51 crore property tax dues from 5 central government and 27 state government institutions. The recent assessment done by the VMC revenue department has shown that a majority of these departments have to pay their property tax dues since 1988, some others from 1990. According to the VMC, 449 assets of the central government and 317 assets of the state government have to pay dues - Rs 27.08 crore as principal amount and Rs 23.98 crore as interest.

The South Central Railway, which has 427 properties, has to pay Rs 19,44,64,841 since April 1988. While the actual demand was Rs 11.05 crore, the compound interest reached Rs 8.38 crore, and the total amount due is now Rs 19.44 crore. The postal department has to pay Rs 2,23,61,951, BSNL Rs 46.46 lakh, income tax Rs 6.37 lakhs, and Doordarshan has to pay Rs 19,53,239.

These five central government institutions put together have to pay a property tax of Rs 22,40,64,050 for their 449 properties. In this, total amount and interest component is Rs 9,81,26,339. When it comes to state government departments, out of the 27 institutions, the government colleges (IIT and polytechnic) have to pay property tax dues of Rs 11,14,17,651 in the first place, followed by police department with Rs 6,15,34,481.

The medical department has to pay Rs 1,03,38,980, endowments Rs 43,23,424, revenue Rs 1,25,55,084, UDA Rs 1,50,75,191. While the total 27 departments’ property tax dues are around Rs 51,07,02,953, only interest component within those dues is Rs 23,98,58,882. The interest component is almost nearing the actual demand Rs 27,08,44,071. The VMC is now scouting for funds and once Mr. Nivas took charge as the commissioner, he has started concentrating on vacant lands. He is aiming at resolving the issue through dialogue.