HT Correspondent
SIVASAGAR, Feb 4: In an executive meeting held at Amolapatty Hindu Dharma Namghar Samaj on Saturday, the Sivasagar Municipality Tax Payer Association decided to cooperate with the Sivasagar Municipality Board (SMB) in the annual property tax collection drive, considering the acute financial crisis faced by the Board.
Initially, the association advised some taxpayers not to pay the full tax due to widespread inconsistency in tax assessment. However, they later urged them to pay the remaining taxes by February, acknowledging that the financial grant from the 15th Finance Commission may not be awarded to SMB if it fails to collect the requisite taxes by March.
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Representatives of SMB, Purna Kalita, and Samir Das attended the meeting and briefed the attendees on the financial situation of the municipality. They mentioned that necessary measures have been taken to address all objections within the next two months. The municipality has been able to raise only Rs 3.7 crore from various sources instead of the annual target of Rs 4 or 4.5 crore, which could result in the municipality losing the Rs 12 crore 15th Finance Commission grant from the Centre. The municipality collects more than Rs 5.7 lakh annually from ONGC Sivasagar establishments.
The meeting expressed regret that the tax collection system of the municipality is not yet fully digital. It also called on the municipality to disclose the names of all government and non-government offices and individuals who have not paid municipality taxes for years.
Secretary Arvind Barua read out the minutes of the previous meeting. Executive president Dilip Saikia, finance secretary Tutu Phukan, senior members Dr Mani Pathak, Pradeep Bordoloi, Arun Lahti, Younis Ahmed, Krishna Panging, Bina Goswami, Rajni Chankakati, Sirajul Islam, Umesh Chankakati, Suryakant Das, and several others also addressed the meeting. In their speeches, they recommended not engaging private parties in property assessment without knowledge of the job and highlighted the need for a clear assessment policy.
