Even as the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) is making efforts to avoid any evasion of property tax in its jurisdiction, a latest estimate has revealed that government departments owe more than Rs 16 crore in taxes to the civic body.
According to sources at the DMC, various departments and institutions in Dehradun are yet to pay their housing tax. Officials said that the defaulters owe more than Rs 16 crore in taxes. They added that some departments have not paid property tax since 2016 even after being sent notices regarding the payment.
“We will now start sending reminder notices to the government bodies. The notice will include the break-up of all the due tax amount. The interest will keep accumulating till they clear the dues,” said Dharmesh Panuily, tax superintendent, DMC.
Among the major defaulters are — public works department and Survey of India (Rs 3.5 crore each), Forest Research Institute (Rs 2 crore), Dehradun police department (Rs 1.8 crore), SIDCUL and Doon Hospital (Rs 1.3 crore each) along with others like Vidhan Sabha Bhawan, Transit Hostel, and others.
A senior official in the district administration said that each department handles taxation individually. Meanwhile, officials of the DMC said that if all government bodies pay their house tax on time, the corporation will be able to collect five times the revenue and use the funds for development projects.
