Nagar Nigam panel recommends 5% hike in house tax

A day after the house tax committee set up by Dehradun nagar nigam to revise the house tax in the city proposed a hike of 5% in current rates, residents have raised their concerns.
In its meeting on Monday, the committee also recommended that the homes on narrow streets should pay less tax than those on wider streets of the same area.
Residents have complained that facilities are not getting better but house tax is being increased. Ramesh Pathak, a resident of Race Course area, said, “They are already taking user charges for house to house garbage collection, and now they have increased the house tax as well, when garbage collections is not happening at all.”
Tax rates are revised in the city every four years. In the last board meeting on April 5, mayor Vinod Chamoli had elected the five-member committee from the sitting member of board whose term ends on May 3. The committee members want to pass their recommendations before the new board constitutes. If recommendations are not passed by the current board then the newly elected board will form a committee and their recommendations will be considered for tax rates.

At present, residents of Dalanwala pay around Rs 2 per sq feet of land. So if the carpet area of a house is 2000 sq feet the tax is Rs 4,000. Similarly, in Race Course area, the tax is Rs 1.75 per sq feet so for a carpet are of 2000 sq feet the tax levies is Rs 3500. Once the proposal is accepted, resident of the area will have to pay Rs 4200 and Rs 3675 respectively. With 25% relaxation, instead of Rs 4,200 house tax, it will be Rs 3,150.