Lucknow: The total tax and revenue collection by municipal corporations under the Uttar Pradesh Urban Development Department has registered an increase of 133 percent in the financial year 2023-24 as compared to the financial year 2022-23. The total revenue collection in FY 2022-23 was ₹2340.35 crore, while in FY 2023-24 it has increased to ₹3102.08 crore.
Municipal corporations have recorded growth in their revenues under various heads such as tax revenue, advertising, shop rent, mutation, dog licence, single use plastic ban collection and food van/canteen user charges. It is noteworthy that after the formation of boards in municipal corporations last year, the state government had asked them to take steps to increase revenue collection in a meeting with all the mayors. This growth is the result of that.
Increase in many items
In tax revenue, municipal corporations collected Rs 1,585.59 crore in financial year 2023-24, showing an increase of 124.8% from the previous financial year. Under the advertising head, the revenue reached Rs 7,817.08 lakh, which is a significant increase over the previous year. Collection from shop rent stood at Rs 3,174.74 lakh, while Rs 7,446.26 lakh was collected from transfer. The revenue under dog license was Rs 85.62 lakh. Rs 716.10 lakh was collected from single use plastic ban collection and Rs 2722.63 lakh was collected from food van/canteen user charges.
Technology utilization and sector-wise monitoring
This increase in revenue collection can be attributed to the policies adopted by the department and extensive use of technology. The department has emphasized the use of online portals and mobile applications to ease the property tax collection and bill payment process. Besides this, the department has also initiated area-wise monitoring to improve revenue collection. Along with this, the department has also started area-wise monitoring to improve revenue collection using the technique of GIS based survey.
Strategy to increase revenue collection
The department has adopted several strategies to increase revenue collection. These initiatives, including revenue based schemes, CM Grids, grants for timely tax filers, schemes, punitive action and taxpayer awareness campaigns, have led to a significant increase in revenue collection by municipal corporations in Uttar Pradesh. This will provide more funds to the department to improve infrastructure and services in cities. To ensure this progress, review meetings were conducted from time to time by the Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department, in which the functioning of the Municipal Corporations and Water Institutions, progress towards revenue collection targets, and impact of innovative measures were thoroughly reviewed. . In these meetings, expert advice and guidance was provided to make the process of revenue collection more fast and efficient.
