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Municipal GIS: The Gorakhpur experience
Properties were further divided on the basis of land use, type of construction, year of construction, year of stay, location of property, availability of basic amenities, covered area and carpet area. Attempts were made to derive the per sq. ft. ARV from the available data but progress on the reassessment front cannot be made because of unavailability of comprehensive data on the carpet area of each property. A task possible, only when reassessment of properties is carried out for the entire city.
Financial Gains
Irrespective of the reassessment stumble, financial benefits projected for the Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation were tremendous. All calculations were made in accordance with the 27% tax levy on the residential population.
Table 1: Financial Justification
| Head/ Mohalla |
& Civil Lines |
&Bilandpur |
&Kalepur |
&Total |
| Average ARV |
&15,652 |
&2,158 |
&3,983 |
&21,794 |
| No. of Un- Assessed HH |
&98 |
&156 |
&30 |
&284 |
| Expected ARV (Rs.) |
&1,533,958 |
&336,794 |
&119,490 |
&1,990,243 |
| House Tax (12%ARV) |
&184,075 |
&40,415 |
&14,338 |
&238,829 |
& |
| Water Tax(12%ARV) |
&184,075 |
&40,415 |
&14,338 |
&238,829 |
| Sewer Tax(3%ARV) |
46,018 |
&10,103 |
&3,584 |
&59,707 |
& |
| Estimated Property Taxes (p.a.) |
&414,168 |
&90,934 |
&32,262 |
&537,365 |
The Financial benefits accruing towards the GMC, as seen above, amount to Rs. 5.37 lakhs for the two wards in question. In order to make the projections for the entire city realistic, the total number of un-assessed properties within the city has been considered. This amounts to Rs. 70 lakhs for the entire city. (20% of total properties are un-assessed, excluding an estimated 2% non-existent records and taking an average ARV of Rs.2,000 as the datum value)
The property reassessment, that will be mandatory for this project to be of any value, will also add a further Rs. 82 lakhs to the coffers of the Corporation (estimated that a minimum 25% of the current properties will need reassessment, and the increase in ARV will be a minimum of Rs. 500)
The benefits derived from the un-assessed properties as well as from the reassessment exercise should more than cover the costs of the project.
A Cyclic Exercise
Since this exercise was not a one-time operation, it was necessary to train the staff in order that the project could stay alive. Workshops and presentations were held within GMC for creating awareness amongst the officers as well.
Conclusion
Municipal GIS is by far one of the most critical uses for the geographic information system. Almost all cities will have to conduct a similar exercise in the next several years due to the severe municipal financial crisis, even though it is generally mandated every five years. The magnitude of financial benefit from this is enormous.
After successful completion of the Gorakhpur GIS, Pilot Phase, the results were presented in front of the then Chief Secretary of the State, who gave the word for Municipal GIS to be initiated in all the 11 Kawal towns in the State (Ghaziabad, Meerut, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Moradabad, Bareilly, Varanasi, Allahabad and Aligarh). Bidding took place and work has started in a few cities. Gorakhpur has been awarded to Rolta India Pvt. Ltd.
References
- Nandan Vaishali, 2001, The Gorakhpur Geographical Information System, MapIndia2001, CSDMS, Delhi.
- Nandan Vaishali, May 2001, And Gorakhpur followed the suit…, GIS Development Magazine, CSDMS, Delhi.
- Scott Gibbons, May 1998, Mirzapur: A GIS that works, GIS Development Magazine, CSDMS, Delhi.
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