'Revenue, Transport depts can enhance revenue'
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 30 2019: The State's revenue can be enhanced significantly if collection of revenue/tax by the Directorate of Settlement and Land Records and Transport Department is streamlined properly, sources said.

The Directorate of Settlement and Land Records has completed computerisation of land records a few years back but its benefit is restricted to issuance of pattas.

There is no facility as yet for a land owner to check details of his/her land holdings online.

There are many land owners who have not been paying land taxes for many years.

At the same time, there are land owners who have been paying their land taxes regularly.

If one can check online how much money is indebted to him/her in the form of land tax, it would help in improving land revenue collection.

If there is such a system, land owners would be motivated to pay their land taxes regularly, said the sources.

E-transfer or cashless transfer can be introduced for registration and re-registration of land/plots.

As such, the benefit of computerisation of land records is at the moment limited to issuance of pattas, said the sources.

Transport Department too has been issuing Smart cards in lieu of driving licences and RC books, and Smart cards contain all the details of the driving licence holders but all money related operations are being carried out manually.

When vehicle taxes are paid, Transport Department issues computer-generated receipts but the vehicle owners are again made to convert the computer-generated receipts into Tits (transaction records) .

If a POS (Point of Sale) is used when Traffic Police and officials of Motor Vehicles collect fines from defaulting motorists on roads so that the collected fines are transferred immediately to Government account, there would be no room for wrongdoing or lapses, the sources said.

These days majority of motorists possess ATM cards.

Just as Smarts cards are issued in lieu of driving licences and RC books, if POS is used when fines are levied on defaulting motorists, revenue collection will improve significantly, the sources added.

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