Steep hike in property, home tax payments leaves Lucknow residents harried | Lucknow Information

LUCKNOW: Jaswinder Sethi, a store proprietor in Shri Ram Tower on Ashok Marg, was stunned to obtain the property tax invoice which was greater than thrice than his final 12 months’s invoice – it had jumped from Rs 3,936 to Rs 13,926.
Sethi thought it was an error on the a part of the Lucknow Municipal Company and promptly filed a grievance.
After discussions with LMC officers, Sethi’s tax was lowered to Rs 9,171. However, nonetheless the revised quantity was larger than his final 12 months’s invoice. Sethi once more raised objections and sought details about LMC’s technique for tax calculation. “I’ve been making rounds of LMC workplace for the previous 5 months to get the difficulty mounted. Each time I’m despatched again with excuses. Even after assurances from the municipal commissioner, neither has my invoice been corrected nor any rationalization offered for the steep hike in it,” he alleged.
Sethi’s will not be a solitary case. Numerous residents in LMC zones 1 and seven are grappling with hiked property/home tax payments.
Following a latest Geographic Data System (GIS) survey, the civic physique revised the property/home tax in lots of areas. Whereas some have residents reluctantly paid the quantity, others allege discrepancies and are struggling to get it rectified.
Rajendra Kumar Arora, a resident of Ismailganj I ward, stated his home tax ballooned to Rs 7,968 from final 12 months’s Rs 1,170.
“I lodged the grievance however there was no response from the zonal officer. So, I made a decision to pay it to keep away from the trouble. LMC ought to have notified me in regards to the tax hike,” Arora stated.
Sanjay Chawala of Ram Tirath ward stated his home tax elevated by 5% (from Rs 5,418 to Rs 5,695) with none prior evaluation.
“The civic physique cannot merely enhance the tax with out informing homeowners. We demanded corrections, however nobody paid heed to our complaints,” he alleged.
Naveen Monga, one other store proprietor in Shri Ram Tower, stated his store’s tax soared from Rs 4,518 to Rs 5,020.
“We’re able to pay larger taxes however LMC should justify the quantity. Additional, the companies offered by LMC after tax cost are sub-par and wish enchancment.”
LMC officers cited a variety of excuses – from glitches within the software program that calculates the tax to removing of previous reductions to justify the hike. Municipal commissioner Inderjit Singh stated: “All complaints concerning home tax are being heard and probed. If there are any anomalies, we’re rectifying them.”