Jammu and Kashmir has come a long way in the last few years, in every respect. Hundreds of kilometres of roads, flyovers, hospitals, parks, gardens, and parking lots are coming up. Every drain and lane is being revamped; the artificial lake, Tawi Riverfront, Zoo, Bala Ji Temple, and so many other projects are being implemented at a fast pace. Similarly, in Kashmir, Boulevard Road is being renovated, a laser show at Dal, an open theatre at Dal, Mughal Gardens are being developed, a museum, flyovers, bridges are being built, and Gulmarg is being developed as a major international adventure and winter sports destination. Alternative tourist destinations and more religious circuits are being planned and developed. All efforts are there to build infrastructure to attract business avenues. But all these things come at a cost. To maintain these and sustain the development, finances have to be generated. The GoI has been continuously supporting Jammu and Kashmir with huge budgets every year, and in fact, all these major projects are under the PMDP itself. GoI has been providing 100% support, but some contribution from the local level has also to be ensured. “Property Tax” is one way to uniformly collect revenues from all. Jammu and Kashmir is the only UT that has yet to implement a Property Tax. Certain due grants of hundreds of crores from the GoI for all three tiers of Panchayati Raj are getting blocked as the implementation of Property Tax is mandatory. The LG administration has correctly issued a notification to implement Property Tax in stages beginning in April 2023. According to the formula developed, no tax is levied on small houses and business establishments, and even on large houses and business establishments, the rate applied is the lowest in comparison to neighbouring states and the rest of the country. The public is already paying a hundred rupees per house as sanitation charges and can contribute another few hundred. All political opponents are just flaring up the sentiments of the public without reading between the lines. Time and again, opposition parties are playing a dirty game and, for the sake of a few votes, unnecessarily raising stumbling blocks in the progress of Jammu and Kashmir.
Property tax implementation has been on the horizon for quite some time, and the administration should have reassured all stakeholders by explaining what is required, what will be done, and what is already being implemented in the rest of the country. The equations are simple; old and new properties, localities, areas, locations, and tax returns have all been taken into account. The confusion seems to be more at the political level than at the public level. It is time for the administration to meet with various stake holders and members of local bodies and explain the calculation formula to them so that they can be convinced. Corporators and local body members should go out into the public with their supporters, calculate property taxes for them, alleviate public concerns, and the misinformation campaign will be atomically busted. It makes no sense to own properties worth crores and complains about a few thousand rupees in taxes. It is time to support the administration’s plans for the development of Jammu and Kashmir; after all, it is for the benefit of the public.
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