Ahmedabad: Property tax relief for Bopal-Ghuma residents

AHMEDABAD: Residents of Bopal-Ghuma, Chiloda, and Kathwada who had been receiving property tax bills that were up to four times higher than usual have been given relief by the AMC.

The civic body now requires the residents of these areas to pay only one-fourth of the increased amount over and above their last nagarpalika bill.

“If residents’ annual bill was Rs 1,000 and the tax bill became Rs 1,500 after their area came under the AMC limits, the residents are required to pay just Rs 1,125 this year,” said AMC revenue committee chairman Jainik Vakil. But he clarified that the tax amount will be increased progressively by adding Rs 125 each year.

“In four years, these residents will receive bills in line with those the other property owners get under the AMC limits,” Vakil said.

A senior municipal official said that the AMC bills were a shock for residents of the newly merged areas initially as their society maintenance bills and the AMC property tax bills were issued at the same time. “We had a formula for newly merged areas in 2006. So we extended the plan to Bopal-Ghuma, Kathwada, and Chiloda residents,” the official said.

Prior to the AMC taking over Bopal-Ghuma, 40,000-odd residents of the area were cumulatively paying Rs 5 crore in taxes. After the AMC issued tax bills, the revenue was expected to go up to Rs 15 crore.

“The property tax system used to be fairly haphazard. For example, the owners of flats built over the past four years pay depending on the carpet area,” said a senior tax assessor of the south west zone. “But the owners of other buildings pay a fixed rate under the old blanket assessment approach.” He said South Bopal will be in the ‘B’ category of the municipal tax system, where the land jantri value is between Rs 7,000 and Rs 15,000. The majority of Bopal and Ghuma regions will be in the ‘C’ category.

“Normally, the scheme is publicized when areas are placed under the AMC control,” the assessor said. “But the process was postponed due to Covid’s second wave.” The 2006 method is being considered now that property tax bills have been issued, said another senior AMC official.