Gurugram: Volunteers help RWAs meet property tax collection target

GURUGRAM: A month after the municipal corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) had announced an incentive of 5% of the total property tax collected in the area — with a cap at Rs 50 lakh for the ward committees and Rs 5 lakh for RWAs, two RWAs have already crossed 80% of the benchmark and five have completed 60% of tax collection in their areas.

Tax collection in Ambience Island and Sector 30 has already reached 82% (Rs 3.7 crore) and 95% (Rs 3.77 crore) respectively. DLF-3 collected 65% (Rs 9.83 crore) of property tax, followed by DLF- 5 at 60% (Rs 8 crore), Jalvayu Vihar at 60% (Rs 36.64 lakh), Sector 21 at 60% (Rs 1.37 crore) and Sector 54 at 55% (Rs 1.46 crore).

As soon as the announcement was made, RWAs started strategising on how they should approach the residents to pay property tax. The RWA of DLF-2, which collected 60% of property tax (Rs 9.79 crore) made digital posters to reach out to the residents.

As 70% of the RWA members of the DLF-2 are on Telegram, the RWA sent messages to the residents on the platform asking them to pay their property tax in time and avail of the rebate. The incentive announced by civic commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh for the RWAs was also communicated to the residents.

CP Singh, general secretary of the DLF-2 RWA, said that they didn’t face any resistance from the residents. “In fact, many people, especially senior citizens came to us and expressed their inability to file their property tax online. They suggested that we organise camps for them. We then contacted the MCG and got a camp organised. A team of volunteers were present at the camp and they ensured that all precautions were taken. Some elders even brought cheques and their tax was paid on the spot.”

He added that the RWA sent frequent reminders to the residents to pay their taxes and attend the camp. The problem of online tax payment was also initially faced by the Qutub Enclave RWA.

Dhruv Bansal of the RWA said that after they circulated messages of online tax payment on their society’s WhatsApp group, several residents came forward with requests to organise camps. “We immediately organised a camp for them and also set up a team of volunteers who were asked to approach residents. Residents then came to the community centre where the volunteers were seated with laptops and paid property tax with their help,” Bansal said, adding that they organised camps in DLF Phase-1, 2 and 3 where several residents came and paid the tax.

Dinesh Kumar, zonal taxation officer-2 of MCG, said, “As soon as incentives were announced for RWAs, they approached us to hold property tax camps. The RWAs also asked us for data of property tax dues in their areas. We shared the data for them to know who to approach for property tax payment. Besides the eight RWAs that have done really well, others are also proactively working to reach the collection targets.”