By ARUN PRATAP SINGH
DEHRADUN, 12 Feb: House Tax and Commercial Property Tax defaulters who fail to pay house tax in Dehradun will now receive notices via WhatsApp from Dehradun Nagar Nigam (Dehradun Municipal Corporation). This initiative was launched by Mayor Saurabh Thapliyal and Chief Municipal Commissioner Namami Bansal. As part of the first phase, Mayor Thapliyal has sent notices to 921 defaulters with a single click.
To safeguard taxpayers from cyber fraud, the WhatsApp number used for sending notices has been verified by Meta and will display a blue tick. This would ensure that messages from the Municipal Corporation are authentic.
The Doon Municipal Corporation has set a target of recovering Rs 60 crore from building and property tax for the financial year 2024-25. So far, an amount of Rs 37 crore has already been collected, leaving the balance Rs 23 crore still to be recovered in less than two months that remain for the current financial year to go. In response, the corporation has intensified tax collection efforts, sending continuous notices to defaulters.
Defaulters who fail to clear dues despite receiving notices will face strict action. The Municipal Corporation is preparing to attach and seal properties of commercial establishments and issue Recovery Certificates (RCs) to common defaulters. While 8,000 defaulters have already received notices, more than 30,000 will now be notified via WhatsApp.
Given the rise in cyber frauds, the Municipal Corporation has ensured that tax payment requests are sent only from a Meta-verified WhatsApp account with a blue tick. Taxpayers have been advised to make payments only through messages received from this official account.
Chief Municipal Commissioner Namami Bansal informed that there are 460 defaulters owing over Rs 1 lakh each to the Municipal Corporation as Property Tax, including government institutions and commercial establishments. On the first day of the initiative, messages were sent to 921 defaulters who owe more than Rs 30,000 in taxes. Repeat messages will also be sent to 15,000 defaulters with outstanding dues above Rs 30,000 to encourage timely payments.
It may be pertinent to mention here that it took more than 25 days to complete the Meta verification process for the official WhatsApp Number. The Municipal Corporation is actively informing taxpayers that notices will come only from this verified account, which also contains the official payment option.
Commenting on this, Mayor Saurabh Thapliyal emphasised that the initiative aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a Digital India. He highlighted that this system will help taxpayers avoid long queues and make payments conveniently. The Municipal Corporation has officially launched this digital initiative, making tax collection more efficient and accessible to the residents of Dehradun.
