Lucknow. Now the noose seems to be tightening on the officials regarding house tax collection and One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme in the Municipal Corporation. According to departmental sources, on the instructions of Municipal Commissioner Gaurav Kumar, Chief Tax Assessment Officer Vinay Kumar Rai has given strict instructions to the tax superintendents, revenue inspectors and employees associated with revenue collection and asked them to ensure the expected progress in the pending works till Friday.
According to sources, it has been made clear to the officials that along with improving the status of OTS applications, bringing the negative ongoing recovery to a positive level should be the priority. Instructions have been given to especially focus on those big defaulters, whose names have already been published in newspapers. Emphasis has been laid on such big defaulters to apply under OTS and deposit the amount as per the prescribed procedure.
If recovery does not improve, the functioning of officers will be reviewed
According to departmental sources, a detailed assessment of the functioning of the officers will also be done. This will include the status of new tax assessments made by them, tax revision, progress of OTS, house tax collection and scrutiny of mutation applications.
It is being told that on the basis of data and available evidence related to all these points, a report is being prepared and sent to the higher level. It has also been made clear in the instructions that if the expected progress is not made within the stipulated time frame, then strict action can be recommended against the concerned officers and employees at the departmental level.
Focus on eight zones of Lucknow
Sources say that dissatisfaction has been expressed regarding the progress of officers and employees associated with revenue collection in all zones. Despite repeated instructions, if the expected results have not been achieved, now the officers have been asked to meet the time bound target. It has also been clarified by the Chief Assessing Officer that bringing OTS and negative recovery to a positive position is the main priority for the Revenue Department at present.
Instructions to improve functioning in three days
According to departmental sources, officials have now been instructed to improve their activities and recovery situation in a very short time. If there is no expected progress in the backlog and scheduled activities by Friday, a warning has been given that a proposal for strictest action will be sent to higher levels. There is already pressure on the officials of the Municipal Corporation to meet the target regarding revenue collection for the financial year. In such a situation, after the strict stance of the Chief Assessing Officer, there is a possibility of increased monitoring of the activities of tax superintendents and revenue inspectors.