HMC sees record trade licence fee collection

Kolkata: The collection of trade licence fees has reached an all time record in Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC). There was a collection of Rs 74 lakh as trade licence fees, just on Saturday.

The civic body broke its own record of collecting Rs 45 lakh in one single day. In the 2017-18 fiscal, the civic body had collected Rs 45 lakh on one single day. In the 2018-19 fiscal, the new record has been set.

It may be mentioned that the civic body has taken several steps to ensure better service to the people. The condition of roads has improved and at the same time, Howrah city had received a facelift, with beautification work carried out at different places. At the same time, steps have also been taken to ensure that water recedes fast even after heavy rainfall.

With the development work carried out by the civic body, the traders were also benefitted. As a result, they enthusiastically turned up to pay the fees against their trade licences.

Arun Roy Chowdhury, member, Mayor-in-Council for Tax and Licence, said: "Traders are happy with the development work carried out by HMC, following the direction of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and that is the reason behind the collection. The people want more development work to be undertaken and that is the reason why they have shown interest in clearing the trade licence fees."

It may be mentioned that the civic authorities have now introduced the system of online renewal of trade licences. At the same time, one can also pay his or her property tax online.

The huge collection of trade licence fees comes at the time when the Chief Minister had directed the civic authorities to expedite many of its projects. She had given the direction while holding the administrative review meeting in Howrah. Subsequently, the civic body has taken up several measures to ensure that all projects are completed on time.