Kolkata mayor urges KMC to release mutation certificates within 15 days, ET RealEstate
KOLKATA: In an endeavour to expedite the issuance of mutation certificates, mayor Firhad Hakim on Wednesday asked the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) assessment department officials to release all mutation certificates within 15 days of receipt of applications. If any civic officials find any complexity in the documents submitted by the applicants, they must bring it to the notice of the seniors within 15 days so that the applicants do not have to go from pillar to post to get certificates.
According to Hakim, any delay in the issuance of mutation certificates will strengthen a tout raj within the civic corridors. “Give relief to the citizens who apply with valid documents for the mutation of land or flats so that the citizens, especially the elderly, do not fall prey to touts,” said Hakim.
However, at the same time, the KMC assessment department will tie up with the civic body’s buildings and license departments to find out which residential buildings are being used for commercial ventures and accordingly bring them under a higher property tax net.
According to a KMC assessment department official, an instruction has also been passed on to the department to withhold the names of flat owners on mutation records if the department officials find the building concerned has been constructed without legal sanction. In short, the owner of a flat in an illegal building would be denied ownership status, said a civic official, adding the assessment department would merely make the owner the “person liable to pay tax.”
However, in a meeting held with the senior assessment department officials, the mayor asked them to conduct a major drive to bring all unassessed properties and augment revenue. A KMC assessment department official said the department was keeping a vigil on the construction hot-spots located off EM Bypass and other added areas like Behala and the Tollygunge-Jadavpur belt.
