Offer suggestions to raise Chandigarh MC revenue: Mayor to councillors

Mayor Kuldeep Kumar has asked the councillors to give suggestions to increase revenue of the civic body. This is following UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria declining yesterday to give special grant to the cash-strapped MC and further directed it to find own ways to generate revenue.

In a notice to the councillors, the Mayor stated that: “As the MC is facing acute shortage of funds, you are requested to submit valuable suggestions or recommendations to Mayor office within seven days on increasing MC’s revenue, so that the financial conditions can be improved.”

The Mayor said that since the Administrator had directed the MC to generate revenue from own receipts and cut unnecessary expenses, a special meeting has been called on November 4 to discuss the possibilities of revenue generations from various sources, including estate receipts, property tax, rent from community centres, parking fee, advertisement fee, rent from taxi stands, water bills, vendor fee, receipts from enforcement wing, garbage collection, cow cess, receipts from birth and death registration or correction and other revenue generating departments of the civic body.

Meanwhile, the Mayor has asked the MC Commissioner to recover property tax and water bills from defaulters. “Since the Administrator has directed us to recover the property tax and water bills from the defaulters immediately to cope up with the financial crisis, you are requested to provide a list of defaulters within seven days. Also, immediate action be taken against the defaulters,” he said, and added that they might be given final notice to deposit the tax and water bills.

“In case, they fail to deposit the tax on time, the process of sealing the said property and water meter be initiated with immediate effect as per rules. The names of defaulters and their dues may also be shared with media so that they can deposit their dues well in time,” he added.