‘Take action against Assessment dept officials for non-performance’
KOLKATA: In the wake of several complaints relating to property tax, Firhad Hakim, Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), has asked the Municipal Commissioner to take strict action against Assessment department officials for alleged non-performance.
Hakim said: “I am receiving several complaints from different wards. Assessment department officials are not following orders. They were instructed to carry out door-to-door visits but they are defying the orders. This work culture needs to change. Babugiri will not be tolerated.” He further said that most complaints are coming from Gariahat and Behala areas. “The assessment department officials responsible for collection in the Gariahat area do not do any work. Complaint files relating to Behala are piling up for months. No one is bothering to ensure the work gets done. Gone are the days when government officials could sit and expect the work to get done automatically. Only sitting and demanding for dearness allowance will not help,” Hakim said. What irked the Mayor on Friday was a series of complaints. A resident of Cossipore in ward 01 called Hakim to complain that he has been living in a flat since 2017 but to date, he has not been able to get the mutation done for the flat. Hence, he is also not being able to deposit taxes. He said despite having submitted the application for mutation, there has been no response from the side of KMC. The Mayor assured the complainant that he will send officials from the assessment department to the housing complex and will arrange a camp there so that mutation can be done on the spot. Hakim said that about 70 to 80 flats there need to complete mutation. He told the KMC Commissioner, Binod Kumar, that assessment department officials are not visiting areas as instructed. He ordered the Commissioner need to serve a show-cause notice.
Further, the Mayor received a complaint from a garment factory owner whose establishment is located inside Kasba Industrial Estate. The complainant alleged that he has a three-storey building there and the entrance to which is directly on the main road but the entrance is blocked by hawkers.
Hakim said that there is already a gate to enter this industrial estate and was surprised to hear that the entrance to this building is from the main road. He said the sanction plan of this building needs to be checked since he has reports of illegal constructions inside Kasba Industrial Estate. He said that Assessment department officials in areas of Gariahat and Behala are not visiting properties at all.
