Building owners owe Ghumarwin civic body Rs 3.17 crore in house tax

House tax amounting to about Rs 3.17 crore has been pending for a long time against building owners in the Ghumarwin Municipal Council area of Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh. The outstanding dues are affecting the council’s revenue and have made it difficult to raise resources for the development of civic facilities in the town.

Ghumarwin is a major educational and commercial centre of Bilaspur district. According to the Municipal Council, several building owners have not deposited house tax despite notices being issued to them on multiple occasions. The council has been asking defaulters to clear their dues, but the recovery has not achieved the expected results.

Municipal Council records show that 2,654 residential and commercial properties are registered in Ghumarwin town. These properties are expected to generate about Rs 96 lakh in house tax every year. However, despite this estimated annual collection, house tax amounting to crores of rupees remains unpaid.

The council has issued notices to the defaulters and is continuing efforts to collect the pending amount. Information related to house tax recovery has also been provided to the government. The Municipal Council has said that it will take appropriate steps to improve the recovery of the outstanding tax.

Ghumarwin has a population of about 40,000. Around 70 per cent of the people are said to be tenants. However, the responsibility for depositing house tax lies with the concerned building owners. Because of this, recovering the pending amount from property owners has become an important task for the Municipal Council.

The revenue received through house tax is used for several civic services in the town. These include maintaining cleanliness, operating street lights, repairing roads, cleaning drains and improving other public facilities. The council depends on its revenue to support these services and carry out development-related work.

If the outstanding house tax is not recovered on time, the council may face difficulty in arranging the resources needed for development work and urban facilities. The pending amount has therefore become a matter of concern for the Municipal Council, as it is affecting the revenue available for civic services.

Ghumarwin Municipal Council Executive Officer Khem Chand Verma said that efforts were being made to recover the outstanding house tax. He said that the matter had also been brought to the government’s attention.

Khem Chand Verma said that the council was considering the possibilities of recovering the pending amount while also providing relief to the defaulters. He appealed to all building owners to deposit their house tax on time.

He said that timely payment of house tax would help ensure that development work and civic facilities in the town continue smoothly. The council is now focusing on recovering the long-pending dues from building owners and strengthening its revenue collection.