Karnataka yet to settle wrongful claims of property tax on over 78,000 citizens, Real Estate News, ET Real Estate

Bangalore: In January 2022, Karnataka The cabinet had decided to save over 78,000 citizens from wrongful property tax claims due to wrong zonal classification. BBMP, However, the order by the government is yet to see the light of day and the patience of the citizens is running out.

There have been protests before 2022 as well. To address the issue, the Bengaluru Navnirman Party (BNP) organized a physical and virtual demonstration involving hundreds of people in September 2021 and also matched an online petition, which garnered thousands of signatures and was successfully launched in 2022. The attention of the Government of Karnataka was drawn to the decision of the cabinet.

However, administrative delays continue, and citizens report that they are still receiving penalty notices due to glitches in the BBMP.

Kiran Srinivas, a resident of Gayatrinagar, said, “We have been served notices for no fault of ours. Though BBMP assured us that the fine would be waived off, still the fine amount is being added on the portal. Around one lakh Fines and interest on citizens range from tens of thousands to several lakhs of rupees.If the government fails to pass the order immediately, citizens will give a befitting reply to the government at the ballot box in the coming elections.

Sridhar Komaravalli, a cartoonist and JP Nagar resident, said that two-three years ago he had received a notice for misclassification of property. I got a notice that I have to pay Rs 24,549 due to misclassification. I was surprised because I pay my taxes on time.

On March 7, the BNP wrote a letter to the Special Revenue Commissioner, BBMP, requesting him to expedite the issuance of the mandate and also provide a copy of the proposal submitted by the BBMP to the government in the matter. However, BBMP is yet to respond.

BNP’s Lalitamba said, “There has been neither any official notification nor any clarity on whether an appropriate Government Order (GO) is likely to be issued in compliance of the judgment. The government should issue the order and BBMP should remove the flaws of its IT system.