With two days to go for the end of the current financial year, the revenue collected by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has crossed the amount generated last year.
Despite two waves of Covid pandemic and the urban local body election, the BMC has been able to fetch Rs 124 crore, Rs 6 crore more than that of last year’s collection. In the next two days, the civic body hopes to generate another Rs 20 crore, that will take the total annual revenue collection close to Rs 150 crore. In the last financial year, the BMC had earned Rs 118 crore despite the first wave of the pandemic.
BMC officials said while 50% of the projected amount is expected to come from issuing of no objection certificate (NOC) from town planning section, holding tax, another major revenue component, will contribute another 30%. Till Tuesday, the BMC has collected Rs 45 crore in holding tax.
“The last two days of the financial year is crucial. On March 30 and 31, we collect around Rs 20 crore revenue. The other components of revenue are trade licence fee, parking, user fee and advertising licence fee. Besides, there are different services the civic body renders which helps it to generate revenue,” BMC deputy commissioner (revenue) Srimanta Mishra said.
BMC officials said with second wave of the pandemic hitting the state soon after the beginning of the current financial year and third wave towards the end, revenue collection should have been disrupted. The urban local body election also came at the peak of revenue collection time when most of the ward officers, including senior officer, were engaged in poll process. But that it didn’t was due to people’s voluntary compliance of clearing the dues.
The BMC also hopes to collect a handsome amount from trade licence fee, another revenue component, as it has completed enumeration of traders in all the 67 wards leading to identification of altogether 31,000 traders.
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