The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) is rolling out a major technological upgrade designed to bring fairness and clarity to how property taxes are calculated in the city. The new Property Tax Management System (PTMS) promises to eliminate long-standing discrepancies and put an end to complaints about harassment by municipal staff during the assessment process.
Which Properties Will Face Scrutiny?
The implementation of PTMS will bring several types of properties under the scanner. Ashok Singh, the Chief Tax Assessment Officer of LMC, highlighted that the focus will be on cases where there is a mismatch between official records and reality. This includes buildings where the actual constructed area differs from what is documented, properties incorrectly categorised as residential or commercial, and structures that have been expanded without notifying the authorities.
Furthermore, the system will closely examine residential premises being used for commercial activities. Large houses and buildings that have been under-assessed or have managed to stay outside the tax net altogether will also face detailed verification.
How PTMS Will Work to Ensure Fairness
Currently, errors in manual assessment have led to unfair situations. There are instances where smaller properties are shown with inflated areas, or homes are wrongly taxed at commercial rates. The PTMS aims to correct this by creating a comprehensive, digital, building-wise database.
This database will allow tax authorities to easily compare the actual tax liability with the assessed amount. It will automatically flag cases of both under-assessment and non-payment, removing human bias and error from the initial detection phase.
Transparency and Accountability at the Core
Explaining the transformative impact of PTMS, Ashok Singh stated that the system will ensure transparency by digitally mapping each building. Verified data regarding the property's area, its usage, and ownership details will be linked to this map. Once this information is uploaded into the system, it cannot be altered manually, preventing unauthorised changes.
This design means that both property owners and senior municipal officials will be able to see exactly how the tax for a particular building was calculated. This visibility is expected to bring accountability to every level of the tax administration process.
Enhanced Monitoring and Recovery
Beyond ensuring accurate assessment, the PTMS will also serve as a powerful tool for identifying tax defaulters. The digital system will make property tax data readily accessible to the Municipal Commissioner and other senior officials for continuous monitoring. This will streamline the process of tracking payments and initiating recovery actions against those who evade taxes, thereby potentially increasing the civic body's revenue collection.
The move by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation is seen as a significant step towards modernising urban governance and building public trust in municipal taxation systems through technology-driven transparency.
