Patna: The Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) has launched a special campaign to expand its property tax base by identifying properties that remain outside the municipal tax system despite having electricity connections.
According to the corporation, there are nearly 7 lakh electricity consumers within the PMC area, but only around 3 lakh properties are currently registered for property tax. The campaign aims to narrow this gap by increasing the number of assessed properties and improving municipal revenue.
Dedicated Team To Contact Consumers
As part of the initiative, the Municipal Corporation has constituted a 26-member team operating from its control room.
The team is contacting electricity consumers by telephone each day to collect details such as their Property ID, Self-Assessment System (SAS) number, and property tax payment status.
Officials are also guiding residents through the property assessment process, informing them about the required documentation and encouraging eligible property owners to complete their assessments.
Daily Monitoring Of Campaign
To monitor the progress of the campaign, each team member submits a daily work report detailing the number of consumers contacted and the outcomes of the interactions.
These reports are reviewed by the officer in charge, who evaluates the quality of work and overall progress before submitting a consolidated report, along with recommendations, to the Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Revenue).
AI To Accelerate Outreach
The Municipal Corporation is also preparing to deploy an artificial intelligence (AI)-based system to increase the scale and speed of the campaign.
Officials said the AI-enabled platform is expected to help the corporation reach a larger number of consumers in less time and improve the efficiency of the verification process.
Electricity Data Shared By Energy Department
The campaign is based on consumer data provided by the Energy Department, which shared details of 6,97,792 electricity consumers within the Patna Municipal Corporation area.
Mobile numbers are available for 6,18,244 consumers, and the first phase of the campaign is focusing on contacting these consumers to verify whether their properties have been assessed for municipal taxation.
The corporation expects the exercise to help identify a significant number of unregistered properties and broaden the city’s property tax base.
