Delhi’s private power distributors are in trouble again.
In what is being viewed as its most significant directive, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) on Thursday ordered a physical verification of all the assets that private power companies claimed to have purchased in eight years to build a robust infrastructure and showed it as capital expenditure.
If the verification finds that discoms exaggerated their expenditure figures, the extra amount will be adjusted through altering the power tariff.
In other words, power tariff may get slashed substantially.
“Consumers have always complained discoms did not upgrade substations, transformers, etc, and breakdowns were increasing,” said DERC secretary A.K. Tewary. “Now we will know if discoms overstated the figures.”
As per the agreement, the discoms — North Delhi Power Limited and BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna — get an assured 16 per cent return on their capital expenditure. This amount is usually realised through an increased power tariff, although the government may pick up the tab and offer subsidy without impacting tariff.
Together the discoms claimed to have put in place infrastructure worth Rs 6,000 crore.
DERC has appointed Hydera-bad-based Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) for the exercise. The ASCI will check purchase orders and actual delivery of each asset, entry of such assets in the register, installation on site, location and more.
“We are open to any scrutiny,” said a BSES spokesman. An NDPL spokesman refused to comment.
with thanks source : http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/newdelhi/Regulator-to-verify-power-discoms-expense-claims/Article1-485207.aspx
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com
Friday, December 11, 2009
MCD tax : Netas feel differently
Fri, Dec 11 11:30 AM
New Delhi, Dec. 10 -- A day after MCD commissioner KS Mehra announced a 5 per cent increase in property tax, the political brass of the civic body said it was not in favour of adding to the burden of taxpayers, especially those from the middle-class and lower middle-class.
Instead, it was planning to get defaulters in the tax net. "We want more people to be brought into tax net and are working towards it.
The additional taxes are just at the proposal stage," said Mayor Kanwar Sain. He said he wasn't in in favour of burdening those who are paying taxes.
"The idea is to increase our revenue by increasing taxes charged from malls, 3-star hotels etc. Their turnover is huge but they are paying pittance as taxes presently," he said.
MCD commissioner KS Mehra had on Wednesday had proposed a 5 per cent increase in the house tax rate being levied. The increase is much more for commercial properties.
For rented commercial property, tax has increased from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, which is almost a 100 per cent increase in the annual amount being paid as property tax, according to traders. The increase for self-occupied commercial properties is 5 per cent from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.
MCD has also proposed to bring some commercial enterprises under a special category and charge 20 per cent from them. "We do not want to burden people belonging to the middle-class and lower middle-class.
We will make changes in the proposed budget in the coming days," said Subhash Arya, leader of the MCD House.
with thanks source : Hindustan Times
Taken with thanks from : http://in.news.yahoo.com/32/20091211/1053/tnl-mcd-tax-netas-feel-differently.html
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com
New Delhi, Dec. 10 -- A day after MCD commissioner KS Mehra announced a 5 per cent increase in property tax, the political brass of the civic body said it was not in favour of adding to the burden of taxpayers, especially those from the middle-class and lower middle-class.
Instead, it was planning to get defaulters in the tax net. "We want more people to be brought into tax net and are working towards it.
The additional taxes are just at the proposal stage," said Mayor Kanwar Sain. He said he wasn't in in favour of burdening those who are paying taxes.
"The idea is to increase our revenue by increasing taxes charged from malls, 3-star hotels etc. Their turnover is huge but they are paying pittance as taxes presently," he said.
MCD commissioner KS Mehra had on Wednesday had proposed a 5 per cent increase in the house tax rate being levied. The increase is much more for commercial properties.
For rented commercial property, tax has increased from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, which is almost a 100 per cent increase in the annual amount being paid as property tax, according to traders. The increase for self-occupied commercial properties is 5 per cent from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.
MCD has also proposed to bring some commercial enterprises under a special category and charge 20 per cent from them. "We do not want to burden people belonging to the middle-class and lower middle-class.
We will make changes in the proposed budget in the coming days," said Subhash Arya, leader of the MCD House.
with thanks source : Hindustan Times
Taken with thanks from : http://in.news.yahoo.com/32/20091211/1053/tnl-mcd-tax-netas-feel-differently.html
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com
Will house tax hike plug hole in MCD's coffers?
NEW DELHI: MCD might have proposed an increase in property tax for both residential and commercial properties, and new taxes - to better its services - but at the other end, crores of rupees are still spilling out of its coffers due to a lack of proper checks and balances.
Salaries paid to ghost employees is not the only problem. MCD is also losing money because of dishonoured cheques received as payment for property tax. The civic agency's budget says it loses crores in this manner, but there is no accounting of the exact amount. MCD has now decided to set up a committee at the central level to monitor the matter and initiate action against defaulters.
Said MCD commissioner K S Mehra: "Most dishonoured cheques we get are meant to be payment for property tax. The matter is not always pursued. But action will now be taken against defaulters."
Neither has MCD's attempt at bringing more people into the tax net been very sucessful. It had come up with an amnesty scheme earlier this year under which people who had not paid tax, would not be levied a penalty or interest on the pending amount. The last date for the scheme was October 31. But only 46,070 people came forward, from who MCD got Rs 100 crore.
Said Leader of the House Subhash Arya: "We were expecting to get Rs 1,000 crore. We have now extended the payment deadline to December 31. The Survey of India is carrying out a survey of properties in Delhi, details of which will be made available to MCD so that we can take action against property tax defaulters. Right now only nine lakh people pay property taxes, while there are 30 lakh properties in Delhi."
According to sources, the major defaulters are residents living in unauthorised regularised colonies. Meanwhile, government bodies like the Metro and Delhi Development Authority also owe MCD over Rs 500 crore. Said an MCD official: "The matter concerning Metro is ongoing in court, while the DDA issue has been taken up with the L-G."
But the money drain continues. MCD loses crores of rupees over parking. For instance there are over 250 illegal car parks in MCD areas. Said an MCD official: "We tried legalising some of these parking lots but did not get permission from the traffic police."
with thanks Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Will-house-tax-hike-plug-hole-in-MCDs-coffers/articleshow/5324981.cms
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com
Salaries paid to ghost employees is not the only problem. MCD is also losing money because of dishonoured cheques received as payment for property tax. The civic agency's budget says it loses crores in this manner, but there is no accounting of the exact amount. MCD has now decided to set up a committee at the central level to monitor the matter and initiate action against defaulters.
Said MCD commissioner K S Mehra: "Most dishonoured cheques we get are meant to be payment for property tax. The matter is not always pursued. But action will now be taken against defaulters."
Neither has MCD's attempt at bringing more people into the tax net been very sucessful. It had come up with an amnesty scheme earlier this year under which people who had not paid tax, would not be levied a penalty or interest on the pending amount. The last date for the scheme was October 31. But only 46,070 people came forward, from who MCD got Rs 100 crore.
Said Leader of the House Subhash Arya: "We were expecting to get Rs 1,000 crore. We have now extended the payment deadline to December 31. The Survey of India is carrying out a survey of properties in Delhi, details of which will be made available to MCD so that we can take action against property tax defaulters. Right now only nine lakh people pay property taxes, while there are 30 lakh properties in Delhi."
According to sources, the major defaulters are residents living in unauthorised regularised colonies. Meanwhile, government bodies like the Metro and Delhi Development Authority also owe MCD over Rs 500 crore. Said an MCD official: "The matter concerning Metro is ongoing in court, while the DDA issue has been taken up with the L-G."
But the money drain continues. MCD loses crores of rupees over parking. For instance there are over 250 illegal car parks in MCD areas. Said an MCD official: "We tried legalising some of these parking lots but did not get permission from the traffic police."
with thanks Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Will-house-tax-hike-plug-hole-in-MCDs-coffers/articleshow/5324981.cms
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Surprise factor in the property taxes between NDMC & MCD areas
It's really a surprise that on one hand, as a relief to the tax payers of NDMC areas, the residents are being allowed to pay the property taxes on the older basis, whereas, residents of MCD areas are being targeted with slew of new taxes & rate hikes soon.
Do you think it is fair ?
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com
Do you think it is fair ?
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com
'Why not nail the defaulters first?’
Residents have thumbed down the proposed increase in property tax, in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s budget for next year. Although the civic agency claims that the number of property taxpayers is increasing, it has still not been able to deal with those evading tax.
Approximately nine lakh people pay property tax to the civic agency currently, but according to the municipal corporation, there are more than 30 lakh properties in the city. Clearly, it is missing more than two-thirds of its taxes.
“We are the honest tax payers who have been paying our taxes every year without fail, why should we take the burden of the defaulters? The MCD should come up with a strategy to make the defaulters pay. Increasing property tax is not the solution. They are forcing us to leave Delhi,” said Rajiv Kakaria, member of Greater Kailash-I resident welfare association.
The civic agency had recently launched a scheme asking all the defaulters to pay their dues, but to no avail.
“The civic agency is unable to provide basic facilities, and rather than improving them, it is burdening the innocent population. Price hike is hurting our pockets already. We were expecting the BJP-led MCD to be more sensitive towards our needs, but it seems to have disappointed us equally,” said VK Arora, a resident of Anand Vihar.
To determine the exact number of property owners in the city, Survey of India is carrying out a survey, a report of which will be soon made available to the MCD.
The report is expected to give an exact idea of the number of property owners, taxpayers and tax evaders in the city.
Please read the detailed news by clicking the headline above.
Source with thanks : Hindustantimes.com
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com
Approximately nine lakh people pay property tax to the civic agency currently, but according to the municipal corporation, there are more than 30 lakh properties in the city. Clearly, it is missing more than two-thirds of its taxes.
“We are the honest tax payers who have been paying our taxes every year without fail, why should we take the burden of the defaulters? The MCD should come up with a strategy to make the defaulters pay. Increasing property tax is not the solution. They are forcing us to leave Delhi,” said Rajiv Kakaria, member of Greater Kailash-I resident welfare association.
The civic agency had recently launched a scheme asking all the defaulters to pay their dues, but to no avail.
“The civic agency is unable to provide basic facilities, and rather than improving them, it is burdening the innocent population. Price hike is hurting our pockets already. We were expecting the BJP-led MCD to be more sensitive towards our needs, but it seems to have disappointed us equally,” said VK Arora, a resident of Anand Vihar.
To determine the exact number of property owners in the city, Survey of India is carrying out a survey, a report of which will be soon made available to the MCD.
The report is expected to give an exact idea of the number of property owners, taxpayers and tax evaders in the city.
Please read the detailed news by clicking the headline above.
Source with thanks : Hindustantimes.com
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com
Slew of new taxes and rate hikes soon
If you own a house in the city, be prepared to spend more on property tax.And worse: if you work in an area under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), it means shelling out even more.
These are proposals made by the civic agency — which controls 96 per cent of Delhi’s area — in its budget estimates for the year 2010-2011.
This will help the corporation earn an additional of Rs 500 crore a year, said MCD commissioner K.S. Mehra.
Mehra has proposed an increase of five per cent in property tax rates in all categories — residential and commercial. The MCD area has been divided into eight categories — A to H — wherein category A stands for upscale colonies.
If the proposal goes through, the tax rate of 10 per cent will go up to 15 per cent and from six to 11 per cent. In effect, this means you pay 50 per cent more. So, a person who was paying property tax of Rs 13,000 a year will now have to pay Rs 19,500.
“We want to provide better services and for this we need more funds,” Mehra said.
There is even more bad news.
In addition to the proposed property tax hike, the Municipal Valuation Committee (MVC) will revise the unit area values (per square metre) under which there could be a minimum increase of 24 per cent.
This means apart from a hike in tax rates, the unit area values may also increase. Together, property tax could go up by 66 per cent. For instance, the unit area value of category A is Rs 630 per sq m. If the proposal is accepted, it will be hiked by 24 per cent to Rs 781 per sq m.
“With new area values, the rates may go up to 35 per cent,” said a senior MCD official.
Mehra has also proposed an imposition of 20 per cent commercial tax on rented non-residential properties and ‘high-end non-residential’ properties such as hotels and malls.
For professionals, tax may be levied on those who work in MCD areas and earn more than Rs 30,000 per month.
Please read the complete news & boxes by clicking the link abovr.
Source with thanks : Hindustantimes.com
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com
These are proposals made by the civic agency — which controls 96 per cent of Delhi’s area — in its budget estimates for the year 2010-2011.
This will help the corporation earn an additional of Rs 500 crore a year, said MCD commissioner K.S. Mehra.
Mehra has proposed an increase of five per cent in property tax rates in all categories — residential and commercial. The MCD area has been divided into eight categories — A to H — wherein category A stands for upscale colonies.
If the proposal goes through, the tax rate of 10 per cent will go up to 15 per cent and from six to 11 per cent. In effect, this means you pay 50 per cent more. So, a person who was paying property tax of Rs 13,000 a year will now have to pay Rs 19,500.
“We want to provide better services and for this we need more funds,” Mehra said.
There is even more bad news.
In addition to the proposed property tax hike, the Municipal Valuation Committee (MVC) will revise the unit area values (per square metre) under which there could be a minimum increase of 24 per cent.
This means apart from a hike in tax rates, the unit area values may also increase. Together, property tax could go up by 66 per cent. For instance, the unit area value of category A is Rs 630 per sq m. If the proposal is accepted, it will be hiked by 24 per cent to Rs 781 per sq m.
“With new area values, the rates may go up to 35 per cent,” said a senior MCD official.
Mehra has also proposed an imposition of 20 per cent commercial tax on rented non-residential properties and ‘high-end non-residential’ properties such as hotels and malls.
For professionals, tax may be levied on those who work in MCD areas and earn more than Rs 30,000 per month.
Please read the complete news & boxes by clicking the link abovr.
Source with thanks : Hindustantimes.com
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.com
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Relief for tax payers in NDMC areas
Wed, Dec 9 12:30 PM
New Delhi, Dec. 9 -- People living in New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) areas can now pay their property taxes based on the old method. The civic body has introduced a new way of calculating tax-the unit area method, which is based on the floor area. But many residents are opposed to the new system. They said the method jacked up their property tax substantially. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had called a meeting of residents and civic body officials on Tuesday to discuss the property tax issue. "We had a meeting with the chief minister and she has assured to re-look into the matter. She has suggested residents can pay taxes based on earlier years' method and file their objections if they have any," said Atul Bhargava, president of New Delhi Trader's Association. According to the residents, the chief minister has assured them that if the need be, the matter would be referred to the Home Ministry. "The new property tax scheme introduced by NDMC is unfair and on an average property tax liabilities are going up by more than 20 times compared to the previous method. We informed the CM that property tax under NDMC is 25 times higher compared to MCD. If Delhi is one why have two different methods of calculating tax?" added Bhargava.
"The civic body proposes to value all properties in NDMC areas at the same rate. As such, posh Khan Market and Khanna Market are supposed to be valued on the same basis. This is unfair," said Anshu Tandon, president of the Khan Market Welfare Association.
with thanks : HINDUSTAN TIMES
Taken from : http://in.news.yahoo.com/32/20091209/1053/tnl-relief-for-tax-payers-in-ndmc-areas.html
RWABhagidari.com
New Delhi, Dec. 9 -- People living in New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) areas can now pay their property taxes based on the old method. The civic body has introduced a new way of calculating tax-the unit area method, which is based on the floor area. But many residents are opposed to the new system. They said the method jacked up their property tax substantially. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had called a meeting of residents and civic body officials on Tuesday to discuss the property tax issue. "We had a meeting with the chief minister and she has assured to re-look into the matter. She has suggested residents can pay taxes based on earlier years' method and file their objections if they have any," said Atul Bhargava, president of New Delhi Trader's Association. According to the residents, the chief minister has assured them that if the need be, the matter would be referred to the Home Ministry. "The new property tax scheme introduced by NDMC is unfair and on an average property tax liabilities are going up by more than 20 times compared to the previous method. We informed the CM that property tax under NDMC is 25 times higher compared to MCD. If Delhi is one why have two different methods of calculating tax?" added Bhargava.
"The civic body proposes to value all properties in NDMC areas at the same rate. As such, posh Khan Market and Khanna Market are supposed to be valued on the same basis. This is unfair," said Anshu Tandon, president of the Khan Market Welfare Association.
with thanks : HINDUSTAN TIMES
Taken from : http://in.news.yahoo.com/32/20091209/1053/tnl-relief-for-tax-payers-in-ndmc-areas.html
RWABhagidari.com
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Join this blog as a contributor
If you are a member of any RWA in Delhi East District, you can join this blog as a contributor. As a result, you will be able to upload your suggestions, ideas, requests, complaints etc. on this blog. To join this blog you have to send us an authorisation letter of your RWA, confirming that your RWA is nominating you to be the contributor. If possible, please mail us a scanned copy of the letter.
Best regards
B S Vohra
vohrabs@in.com
Thursday, November 26, 2009
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Special features of this blog : Members of all the RWA’s will be requested to subscribe this blog. As a result, all those members, who subscribe this Blog will get, all the regular updates, directly into their mail box. Therefore, it will be easy for the RWA’s to communicate & pass on the messages, problems & so on.We will add around 100 members of some prominent RWA’s of East District as the contributors to this blog, so that they can regularly update, details about their area.Even the members of General Public can subscribe the blog and can get regular updates automatically.
With best regards & the best wishes,
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Mrs.Sheila Dikshit & the Bhagidari scheme
Mrs. Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister, Delhi is taking personal initiatives for the success of the Bhagidari scheme. Her presence in work shops as well various Bhagidari utsavs is giving a boost to this Scheme. The hearing of problems being faced by various RWA's through Video conferencing & instructing various department heads, online is really commendable. We can say that, the Govt. of NCT of Delhi has accorded great importance to the Bhagidari Scheme. This scheme seeks to promote a meaningful partnership between the Govt. agencies and citizens, basically covering the provision of civic services. Though, the successful implementation of this approach requires the ability to understand public needs, a high degree of innovation and willingness to adopt a problem - solving approach. The Delhi govt. has made Bhagidari the root of all developmental and welfare schemes.
Bhagidari scheme of Delhi Government
The complete details of the Bhagidari scheme launched by Delhi Government can be viewed at : http://delhigovt.nic.in/bhagi.asp
It includes the details about BHAGIDARI, it's concept, background, philosophy involved, evolution of the Bhagidari concept, issues taken up, implementation mechanism, workshops & utsavs, sources & quantum of funding, decentralisation of Bhagidari, major initiatives, anti plastic & anti littering compaign, senior citizens, reforms in Hospital management & family welfare, development of industries, changes observed, success stories as well challenges.
Please log on to the website as above to view everything about the Bhagidari scheme.
Best regards
Please log on to the website as above to view everything about the Bhagidari scheme.
Best regards
B S Vohra
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