Secunderabad Cantonment Board officials announced that during the triennial revision of property tax, illegal constructions in cantonment areas would also be taken into account. As per the SCB, over 60% of the buildings of cantonment areas are unauthorized, and no property tax has been levied on these constructions.

However, since no surveys have been carried out about such structures, the board has never had sufficient data on the number of these illegal properties in cantoning areas.

To overcome this situation, Secunderabad cantonment property tax officials stated that the engineering wing would conduct surveys on these illegal structures. They will decide whether the construction is legal or not, and the SCB property tax department will calculate the tax under the rates established by them for each structure. 

Each case of the illegal construction may be diverse, and different parameters must be taken into account before a penalty is decided. As per the Secunderabad Cantonment Board, The first floors may be allowed in some cases, but another floor or room may be illegal. Some building owners may have lost their original documents, making the assessment of the degree of violation more complicated.

Taking all these aspects into consideration, it is expected to take about one year to complete the triennial review for the cantonment properties. Soon after the evaluation, notices will be issued to the owners of unauthorized buildings.

By Govi