No property tax for 40 per cent households, says J&K Lt Governor

In the wake of protests over the announcement to impose property tax in Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said 40 per cent of households will not have to pay any property tax and the tax that will be charged from remaining households will be comparatively much lower than neighbouring cities.

Srinagar:Forty per cent of the households in cities and towns of the Union Territory would not have to pay any property tax, said Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday. Sinha said there are 5.20 lakh houses in Srinagar, Jammu and other municipalities of the Union Territory. "Out of the 5.20 lakh households, 2.06 lakh houses are existing on less than 1,000 sq ft., which means that there would be no tax for these households, which are 40 per cent of the total population," Sinha told reporters in Srinagar.

He said the remaining 60 per cent households will be charged a nominal property tax between Rs 600 and Rs 1,000 per annum, which was comparatively lower than the neighbouring cities. The property tax that will be imposed in Srinagar and Jammu Municipal Corporations as well as the 78 municipal committees in other towns of the Union Territory, he added.

He further said there are a total 1,01,000 shops in Jammu, Srinagar and other towns. Of which, 42 per cent shops are on less than 100 square feet area and will have to pay less than Rs 700 per annum while 76 per cent of the shops will have to pay a minimal property tax, he said. The amount collected will directly go to the account of the Municipal Corporations and utilised for the development of those areas where taxes were collected, he added.

Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir government had announced that property tax will be imposed in the Union Territory from April 1 this year. The announcement had evoked protests from all political parties and citizens, who demanded a rollback. Commenting on the law and order situation in the wake of the death of Kashmiri Pandit Sanjay Kumar Sharma in a militant attack, said that the security in the Union Territory improved compared to the past.

He said that security forces will take action against those who killed Sharma in Pulwama. "These incidents have become a cause for concern among people, but be assured that security forces will find out the persons, who were involved in Sharma's killing," he said. Sharma was killed by unidentified militants in his native village Achan in Pulwama on Monday, which evoked condemnation in Jammu and Kashmir.