Curation Team
PRAYAGRAJ: Over 1.5 lakh additional buildings in Prayagraj have come under the ambit of house tax collection for the current financial year. This development follows the completion of five years since the city’s urban limit was expanded, allowing Prayagraj Municipal Corporation (PMC) to impose taxes on all properties in the extended areas.
The expansion of Prayagraj’s urban boundaries was officially notified in the financial year 2020–21. As per the provisions of the notification, the municipal corporation was permitted to begin collecting house tax from all buildings in the newly included areas after five years. Now that the five-year period concluded in 2024–25, house tax will be levied on all buildings in these areas.
In addition to house tax, the property owners in the extended city limits will also be liable to pay water tax. According to the rules, if basic urban amenities were made available in any part of the extended region before the completion of five years, the municipal corporation and Jalkal department are authorised to initiate early tax collection. Acting on this, tax collection began in several housing schemes in Naini, Jhunsi, Jhalwa, and parts of Phaphamau in the previous financial year.
This taxation model is not limited to Prayagraj. Similar systems are set to be implemented in Gorakhpur and Varanasi, beginning this financial year. The chief tax assessment officer of PMC, PK Dwivedi, confirmed that a comprehensive survey of all properties in the extended areas has been completed. House tax bills will be issued within the current financial year, and a self-tax assessment facility will also be provided to property owners.
With the boundary expansion of the Sangam city, as many as 207 villages of the district were merged into the city limits. The building owners in all these villages are now mandated to pay house tax. However, discontent is brewing in several villages, where residents claim that urban development has not yet reached them. The lack of even basic civic amenities in many areas may lead to resistance against tax collection.
In the initial phase, house tax bills were sent to 25,000 buildings in the extended areas during the financial year 2024–25. These included properties developed by the Prayagraj Development Authority, govt housing schemes, and private developers. Out of these, 10,000 property owners already paid their house tax for the ongoing fiscal year.
