To bolster the revenue collection from property tax, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is going for a hi-tech survey with 360 degree street view cameras fitted atop vehicles. The aim of the survey is to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) for updating database of properties as same has huge tax implications in there is major deviation on ground. For the same, the Property Tax Department is going to carry out pan city survey for mapping the changes that have occurred over the years in respect of properties. New data collected from survey would then be mapped with old database of property tax and using AI, they would further be analysed to note the deviation that has taken place in respect of properties.

 

This would then help in property assessment and also addition of new properties and updating of the record. About few months back, the Property Tax Department went for pilot project wherein it carried out photographic survey in the Laxmi Nagar Zone, where one is noticing sweeping changes in properties. As the survey undertaken by NMC was held after a long gap, the new data was matched with old record and the result that emerged were quite revealing. Several new properties came to be identified post survey which resulted in widening the tax base. In the single zone, post keying in the fresh data that was collated from the photographic survey and using the AI tools to hilt, Property Tax Department could collect additional Rs 30 crores revenue. This was possible as at many places, earlier tax base was for a single storeyed house. Now in new survey, the property has become a commercial one, so automatically the tax slabs and also the rate changes. The result, reclassification of the properties tag, as there is substantial gap in tax rate of meant for household and commercial properties.

 

As per the plan, a high resolution camera would be mounted atop a car for photographing the properties as it moves along various localities. As the vehicle passes through every street, the camera would capture the pictures of properties in the respective area, stated Swapnil Lokhande, Information Technology Officer, NMC, while explaining the idea. Post survey, the properties identified will also be geo-tagged for ensuring specific identification as per longitude and latitude as is the practice. He said at some places, it would not be possible to take a car, in such places two wheeler could be utilised. And in some dense localities, particular in old city area, even the photography would need for a person to walk through the narrow streets.

 

The project, Lokhande said, is designed by Revenue Department and its scope was decided to be expanded after studying the promising result from the pilot survey. Earlier, Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Milind Meshram apprised the results of pilot survey and the subsequent analysis plus the significant recovery of property tax dues to Municipal Commissioner Dr Abhijeet Chaudhari. A recovery of Rs 30 crore from single zone is quite significant, and the NMC officials then discussed the wider implication as redevelopment process has gathered pace all over the city. Municipal Commissioner then ordered the Revenue Department to go for fresh survey in the entire city, as it would help in updating the database of property tax department in real time. The recovery from Property Tax holds immense importance for NMC to increase its internal collection. As to usage of AI, Lokhande said, the previous survey of Property Tax Department was done about six to seven years back. Now the fresh data that would emerge from picturisation of localities would be compared to old pictures of properties available in the database.

 

Thereafter, using the AI tools one could map the deviation in the properties and the analysis would immediately showcase the difference. So previously if NMC used to charge the property tax on a single tenement, now armed with fresh data from the survey the civic body can go for immediate reclassification of the assets that would yield substantial additional revenue. Further in the Laxmi Nagar Zone survey, it was also observed that at place where once it was showing open space in old record, the new survey revealed a multi-storeyed building, at some places total commercial units and at other places mixed usage of the new structure. So the usage of AI allowed the analysis to identify the deviation using the old record and pairing with it fresh survey result.