Fire safety levy will burn hole in pocket…..Sharad Vyas
Mumbai: The BMC is set to apply a new levy,the Fire Protection (FP) fee,on residential and commercial buildings.Though nominal in its form,the annual tax,levied on the basis of the total sq ft built-up area in a building,could drill a hole in the pockets of owners of both old and new buildings.
It would be applied on all buildings with retrospective effect from December 6,2008,said officials,who tabled a state governmentbacked proposal before the civic improvements committee.
The committee will meet at the end of this month to take a call after which the plan will be forwarded to the civic house,and suggestions and objections will be invited from citizens.
Part of the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act,2006,the tax is likely to earn BMC a handsome revenue of about Rs 30 crore just from the revenue collected from new buildings.The BMC has already made preparation for creating a separate fund and head for it in its accounting system.The mushrooming of high-rises,shopping malls and multiplexes has lately put a heavy burden on the citys fire department,which is always struggling to match pace with the growth.We will use the money to buy the latest equipment, said chief fire officer Uday Tatkare.
The civic body has been trying to shore up revenue over the last two years by making a correction in its tax rates.Last year,the fire force doubled its scrutiny fee charged for processing and verifying construction project for safety measures.For a low-rise,the charge was increased from Rs 5 per sq m (of built-up area) to Rs 10.For a high-rise,over 25 storey or 70 metres,the levy jumped to Rs 20 per sq m from the original Rs 10.In the 2010-11 budget,the muncipal corporation set aside Rs 190 crore for its fire safety and emergency services.
How the amount will be calculated
For those who move into a new property,the cost will increase marginally as it will be a component of the first-time payment they make to the developer.For old residential buildings,the fee will range from Rs 5 per sq m for a building less than six storeys and go up to Rs 15 per sq m for those over 15 floors.The number of rooms in the structure will also be taken into account and there will be a cap on the total sum charged.For example,for the Rs 5 category the minimum cap is Rs 30,000 and for the highest bracket of buildings,over 15 floors,the cap is Rs 3 lakh.For new residential buildings,the levy will be simply three times of the old.TNN