Date:28/01/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/01/28/stories/2005012802750300.htm

Karnataka - Bellary

Officials told to improve tax collection

By Our Staff Correspondent

BELLARY, JAN. 27. The president of the Bellary Zilla Panchayat, G. Umesh, has instructed the executive officers of taluk panchayats to achieve 80 per cent recovery of tax in all gram panchayats in the district.

Presiding over the monthly meeting to review the implementation of the Karnataka Development Programme here on Thursday, Mr. Umesh said that mobilisation of resources and collection of taxes was essential to help gram panchayats function independently. The tax recovery demand from all the 189 gram panchayats had gone up from Rs. 1.75 crores to Rs. 5.5 crores after the revision of taxes. He directed the officials concerned to disburse salaries to the staff from the tax collected and not from development grants.

The chief executive officer, G.S. Shivaswamy, instructed the secretaries of gram panchayats to strive hard to recover tax and start issuing demand notices.

He also directed the executive officers to regularly follow up the recovery process. He urged the officials of Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company to provide power supply to all drinking water projects on priority.

Sudharani, vice-president, P. Sharada, Goudra Basavanagouda, and A. Manaiah, all chairpersons of various standing committees, attended the meeting.

The tax recovery month was launched at Sindhigeri Gram Panchayat jurisdiction in Bellary taluk on Thursday. Forty bill collectors and secretaries of various gram panchayats in the taluk, and Venkataramanappa, executive officer, participated in the programme. They went round the village, where tax collection was low, urging the public to pay their taxes.