Kolkata Municipal Corporation(KMC) has firmed up plans to introduce tatkal-cum-doorstep services for a fee starting with property mutation and conversion from existing tax structure to Unit Area Assessment (UAA) system. Services like issuance of birth certificates and copies of death certificates are to be brought under its ambit at a later stage. The proposal has been placed before the mayor, who is keen to implement it at the earliest, KMC sources said.
According to a KMC official, the time-bound service has been designed keeping in mind the requirements of busy professionals, the elderly and infirm who find it difficult to visit the civic headquarters or borough offices frequently. “After several brainstorming sessions, the KMC top brass decided to reach out to citizens at their doorsteps and offer hassle-free express services against a nominal fee,” he said.
An assessment department official said they have been asked to keep a workforce ready for doorstep delivery of services.
Civic staffers to help with UAA for a fee
The KMC is all set to kick off its express doorstep delivery of services with property mutation. The assessment department will share WhatsApp numbers of officials with citizens who seek the services. “All a citizen needs to do is contact the official and seek an appointment. The official will send a civic staffer to the residence of the person seeking mutation of a plot, house or flat and collect necessary documents. After processing the documents, the staffer will visit the applicant’s home and deliver mutation certificate and collect a fee,” said a KMC official.
In case of conversion from the existing tax structure to UAA, the assessment department will guide the property owner in filling up the self-assessment form for a fee. “Filling up SAF is technical and time-consuming, which citizens find difficult. It is one of the reasons why conversion to UAA is so slow. We want to address the issue by sending our representatives to citizens who apply for help in the conversion process,” a civic official said.
The service will also be offered to traders at municipal markets who need to get mutation of their shops done after ownership change. At a later stage, the civic body plans to introduce doorstep delivery of birth and death certificates that are issued from the civic headquarters.
