E-payment yet to catch on

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The e-payment facility introduced in the City Corporation some months back with the hope of intensifying tax collection is yet to gather steam. While Corporation documents say that a total of Rs 1.67 lakh was collected by way of property tax through e-payment facility in the last six months, it is a very small sum compared to the huge dues and income it has to actually pocket.  ‘’Only when it is extended to all zonal offices would it receive better response. So far, it has not fallen into a momentum,’’ said Mayor K Chandrika. Each day, the Corporation is stumbling upon more files which point out to the fact that many government buildings have not been assessed. Which means the amount of Rs 80 crore which was arrived at by the Corporation officials the other day is only a tip of the iceberg.  As per the documents received through the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the zonal offices also have huge amounts due to them as property tax. The e-payment facility is yet to reach the zonal areas. In the Fort zonal office, an amount of Rs 2.55 crore is pending. It has dues of Rs 4.14 lakh by way of professional tax too. In the fifteen wards under it, the Fort zonal office has 15 bill collectors.  In Kadakampally zonal office, Rs 1.29 crore is pending by way of tax, which includes a total of Rs 62 lakh as property tax  alone. It is the World Market and Karshaka Bhavan which have accumulated big dues in this zone, which has just one bill collector. In Thiruvallom zonal office, dues are Rs 46.35 lakh and Rs 25.13 lakh by way of property and professional taxes respectively. Except for a college in the area, there are no big dues. It functions with the help of three bill collectors.  In Nemom zonal office, there is a demand of Rs 1 crore by way of property tax and another Rs 22 lakh by way of professional tax. Private hotels and institutions have not made big dues here, as is the case in most of the zonal offices. For the the five divisions here, only two bill collectors have been posted.  Most of the zonal offices have understood the need to intensify tax collection, the Mayor said. ‘’We have asked them to serve notices on the erring institutions and join us in the drive to collect taxes,’’ she said.