Mira-Bhayandar civic body to use drones to keep tab on illegal constructions

The Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) will soon begin deploying drone cameras to identify illegal or unassessed constructions in the twin cities.

Apart from keeping a tab on illegal constructions, the move will also aid MBMC in increasing its revenue collection by appropriately taxing properties that have been under-assessed or not evaluated.

Under the project, civic officials will use the drones to conduct aerial surveys which will help identify illegal or unassessed properties. Once the structures are identified, the owners will be asked to pay the respective dues and brought under the tax net.

The surveys will also be used to develop schematic models of the city for different departments.

The initiative will fall under the central government’s e-governance project, which has been made compulsory for all civic corporations. MBMC has roped in KPMG as technical consultant for launching its e-governance platform.

The e-governance project also entails the digitization of records, facilitation of tax payments, increasing internet penetration, effectively managing communication with citizens and so on.

“The idea of digital inclusion is to weed out corruption, enhance transparency and inject pace into the MBMC’s functioning. Our tax generation can easily jump from the existing Rs 192 crore to Rs 300 crore,” MBMC chief Dr Naresh Gite told the Free Press Journal.

The MBMC reportedly manages to generate only a fraction of its potential revenue owing to its outdated tax evaluation and collection system, which hinders timely assessment of property records.

However, by digitizing the process, the corporation hopes to weed out corruption, increase its revenue collection and accelerate the rate of development.