Jamshedpur, July 13: The Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC) has decided to slap a holding tax on shopkeepers, building owners and other establishments falling under its jurisdiction.
A proposal has been prepared by the JNAC authorities and submitted to deputy commissioner Sunil Kumar Burnwal for his approval.
Special officer of JNAC S.K. Dudhani told The Telegraph that this is the first time that a proposal for holding tax has come from the civic body.
The tax would be subject to the approval of the urban development ministry, which is presently with chief minister Arjun Munda, he said.
Under the new proposal, a tax of Rs 24 per sq ft of land will be charged from shop-keepers and other establishments at Bistupur while Rs 10 per sq ft is the rate for residential areas, sources in the JNAC said.
Shopkeepers at Sakchi market shall have to pay a holding tax of Rs 18 per sq ft of land while Rs 7.50 is the proposed tax for residential land in that area.
Residents of about 86 slums, which come under the jurisdiction of JNAC, will also have to pay a holding tax.
Around 57 sq km of land falls under the purview of the JNAC, with a population of about six lakh.
Through the tax, Dudhani said, the loss-making civic body intends to generate revenue.
With an annual loss of about Rs 8 lakh, the JNAC is in a deep financial crisis. Its present revenue is about Rs 22 lakh while the expenditure crosses Rs 30 lakh.
JNAC officials informed that the other two civic bodies, Mango Notified Area Committee (MNAC) and Jugsalai Municipality, have benefited by imposing a similar tax.
The main source of revenue for the JNAC is from the trade tax collected from shop-keepers and other business establishments.
However, the rates have not been revised since 1985. Parking fees and fees for registration of death and birth are the other sources of revenue.
According to JNAC officials, the holding tax would be utilised for public welfare schemes such as construction of roads, drains, community halls and installing tube-wells in slum areas under JNAC areas.
Officials pointed out that the JNAC has been forced to fall back upon its own resources as the urban development ministry has failed to provide any funds during the last three years.
