Ponda council plans house tax hike to cover rising costs

Ponda: Ponda Municipal Council (PMC) plans to hike house tax to cover rising expenses as it spends Rs 40 lakh monthly on salaries.

Chairperson Anand Naik said that since 2019, house tax has remained at Rs 7 per sqm. Raising the house tax is being considered to mitigate rising administrative costs and increase revenue collection.

In 2022, PMC proposed to hike house tax to Rs 15 per sqm and commercial tax to Rs 20–100 per sqm. Though it hiked rates for new constructions (Rs 50 per sqm) and tax for commercial properties (Rs 206 per sqm), it was revoked after public opposition.

Naik said even B-class councils charge house tax at Rs 20 per sqm, and some panchayats charge even more than PMC. “After every four years, house tax needs to be revised. We will likely decide it in the next council meeting,” Naik said.

He added that their priority is to recover rent arrears, with Rs 2 crore collected in two months. The Goa Waste Management Corporation has demanded Rs 1 crore for wet waste disposal, while the council collects Rs 70 per household for waste collection.