Dehradun: The Uttarakhand Urban Development Department’s property digitisation drive has delivered strong results in its first phase, significantly increasing municipal revenue across the state. Encouraged by the positive outcome, the department is now preparing to roll out the second phase of the project, which will be integrated with a Government of India portal.
Officials say the initiative has not only strengthened revenue collection but has also brought greater transparency to the urban taxation system.
First Phase Completed Across Urban Bodies
The first phase of property digitisation has been completed in all 107 urban local bodies of Uttarakhand. Initially, the process was carried out through the Urban Development Department’s municipal service portal. Under this phase, property tax was made fully online in 14 municipal bodies.
Urban Development Director Vinod Goswami said that due to certain improvements and modifications in the scheme, preparations for the next phase have begun. “The results of the initial digitisation process have been extremely encouraging from a revenue perspective,” he said.
Second Phase to Use Government of India’s ‘UPYOG’ Portal
According to Goswami, drone surveys of all urban local bodies in the state have already been completed, and the mapping process is currently underway. In the second phase, the property digitisation programme will be taken forward under the Government of India’s UPYOG portal, which will enable better monitoring and data integration.
He explained that the early stages of digitisation have already shown how technology-driven systems can improve efficiency and accountability in urban governance.
Drone Survey Reveals Actual Property Data
The Urban Development Director said that after drone surveys were conducted, actual property data was collected and physically verified. Based on this data, notices were issued to property owners, objections were invited, and reassessment was carried out after providing time for public hearings.
Following this structured process, property tax assessment and collection were streamlined, leading to a sharp rise in revenue. Goswami said the entire process has been completed in major urban bodies such as Dehradun, Haridwar and Rudrapur.
Property Tax Revenue Jumps by 136%
Sharing details of the financial impact, Goswami said urban local bodies generate revenue mainly through three sources: property tax, licensing fees and miscellaneous taxes.
After property tax digitisation, revenue from property tax increased by nearly 136.87%. Between January 2019 and December 2022, property tax collections stood at ₹6.78 crore. This figure rose sharply to ₹16.06 crore between January 2023 and December 2025.
Similarly, revenue from trade licences increased by over 50%. Collections rose from ₹3.46 crore between January 2019 and December 2022 to ₹5.19 crore between January 2023 and December 2025.
However, revenue from miscellaneous taxes saw a slight decline of around 9.51%, dropping from ₹9.67 crore to ₹8.57 crore during the same periods.
Transparency and Public Benefits
Goswami said the figures clearly show that increased use of technology has helped clean up the system while improving transparency and revenue generation. “Digitisation has reduced manual intervention and brought clarity to property records, which benefits both the government and citizens,” he said.
He added that the department is now working to ensure that the benefits of increased revenue also reach the public. A citizen-friendly online platform, originally developed by the Government of India to provide hassle-free services, is being customised for Uttarakhand by the ITDA.
The platform is expected to be launched within the next month and aims to provide free, seamless services to residents, further strengthening digital urban governance in the state.
