Lucknow: Nearly 2.5 lakh house owners in the city will soon get relief from long-pending house tax and water tax dues. The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) will introduce a one-time settlement (OTS) scheme for dues pending with the civic body and its Jalkal department.The proposed scheme is being planned on the lines of similar OTS initiatives earlier implemented by the Lucknow Development Authority and UP Awas Vikas Parishad.According to official records, pending house tax dues with the LMC have reached around Rs 700 crore, including nearly Rs 100 crore in interest. The jalkal department has also reported about Rs 110 crore in pending water and sewerage dues, including surcharges.Officials said the scheme is likely to benefit property owners whose dues have multiplied over the years because of the 15% annual interest charged on unpaid house tax. Since unpaid interest is added to the principal, arrears continue to rise. In many cases, retrospective revisions in property assessment have further increased liabilities.The last such OTS scheme was introduced in 2019, under which the entire interest component was waived and rebates were offered for timely payment. If approved this time, officials said the scheme may again provide full interest waiver, enabling thousands of defaulters to clear dues by paying only the principal amount while improving revenue collection for the corporation.
