BMC engages pvt agency to assess unidentified buildings in city for tax collection

Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has engaged a private agency to conduct a survey and assess the unidentified and unassessed holdings (buildings) in the city, in a bid to increase its holding tax revenue.

The BMC on Wednesday said new buildings have come up in the city and they don’t come under the tax ambit.

The BMC deputy commissioner, Suryamani Pattajoshi, said the civic body has a record of 1.19 lakh holdings in the city, which is far less than the actual number in existence. “There could be around one lakh more holdings, which need to be included in the assessment list for them to pay the holding tax. The job of the engaged private party is to identify the new holdings and classify them in terms of residential and commercial set-up, and provide us the database so that in the current financial year (2026-27), we are able to mop up more revenue,” said Pattajoshi.

The BMC officials said they have issued necessary guidelines to the zonal offices to assist the private agency with necessary logistics.

Holding tax is an important component to bolster the BMC’s coffers. Apart from educational institutions, govt and commercial establishments and residential houses pay holding tax every year based on the annual assessment done by the civic body.

The BMC officials said in the 2025-26 financial year, the civic body targeted Rs 200 crore in holding tax, but it could fetch only Rs 120 crore, with around Rs 80 crore pending with defaulters. In March alone, the BMC collected Rs 53 crore, which indicated that the marathon drive, publicising the defaulter list and repeated follow-up yielded some result.

Early last year, the govt accorded permission to the BMC to collect holding tax from areas under Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation, including all industrial clusters and parks, to increase its annual revenue.