Patna, Jan. 8: Resistance put up by some businessmen in the state capital against measurement of their holdings by a private agency has forced the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) to mull strict measures against the protesters.

The civic body has decided to send notices to the businessmen warning them against obstructing the work being carried out by the survey teams.

A private agency has been hired by the state urban development department to prepare a detailed satellite map of the urban property in the corporation areas.

Sheshank Shekhar Sinha, executive officer, New Capital circle of the PMC, told The Telegraph: “A Gurgaon-based private firm — SGS Infotec Private Ltd — is preparing a database that will form the department’s store of geographical or geospatial information system map for the assessment of the actual use of property and fixation of the holding tax in the state capital.”

“The agency has completed the satellite imaging and now it’s carrying out the manual verification by measuring all the holdings in the city. It will be kept for the PMC’s record. The exercise has just begun. There has been some resistance from few businessmen who have their establishments around Dakbungalow roundabout. They have stopped the representatives of the agency from measuring their holdings. We will send notices to those who obstruct the work like this. If the need arises, our officials will accompany the surveyors,” Sinha said. According to sources, after the agency completed its mapping work through geographical or geospatial information system, it emerged that at least 2 lakh properties in the corporation area are still not allotted holding number and hence pay no taxes at all.

The firm has now constituted teams of surveyors for the manual detailing of the satellite map on a ward-wise basis. “It will also help prepare a better city development plan for Patna for which another Delhi-based private firm has been hired,” a source said.

He added that the GIS mapping of the state’s select 26 urban centres is being done to provide analytical database for 26 cities for urban management, including fixing and collecting holding taxes, according to the state government’s urban reform programme in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Development of the British government.