House Tax In Gurgaon Set For An Increase

With many private colonies hitherto maintained privately by developers being handed over to the municipal corporation (MC), house tax in Gurgaon is set to get higher. The Haryana government has clarified that all the sectors carved by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) in Gurgaon and elsewhere in the state will come under the ambit of the MC concerned.

The move comes in the wake of repeated requests by residents and other stakeholders to maintain these 'self-sustaining' sectors. As sewer, water supply, and electricity here are taken care of by private developers, the upkeep of these sectors has become a costly affair. For many buildings that are without proper sewer lines, waste has to be collected in tankers and then disposed of in dumping grounds. This not only causes inconvenience to residents but is also harmful for the environment.

Amid demands from residents, the state government had in February 2016 announced that MCs would take over the upkeep of private colonies in the state. However, the cash-strapped MCs do not have adequate resources to finance and meet the needs of residents. In this regard, the Gurgaon MC wrote to the state government expressing its inability to discharge the additional duty of maintaining more sectors by only collecting property tax alone. It proposed to also collect maintenance fees.

As the main source of revenue for any MC is the property tax, the proposal has moved the state government to analyse whether property tax rates could be revised to bolster the finances of municipal corporations across the state.

As far as the Millennium City is concerned, DLF Phase I and II, Palam Vihar and Sushant Lok are some of the tony colonies that will be transferred to the MC. Although residents had bought these swanky apartments for a hefty price, in the absence of civic amenities provided by the local government these buildings were in a shambles.

While directing the Gurgaon MC to take responsibility for the upkeep of these Hude sectors may be a good step, the Haryana government will have to make available adequate funds to the MC to carry out its duties, instead of burdening the residents.