LUDHIANA: Efforts to modernize the city’s property tracking system have been stalled for a decade due to two unsuccessful attempts at installing unique identification plates across the area.
The municipal corporation’s initiative, proposed in 2014, aimed to assign a permanent UID number and QR code to every residential and commercial property, enabling officials to instantly check for unpaid taxes, water bills, and sewage dues. After 12 years of planning and failed implementations, the project lacks a clear timeline for progress.
Most recently, the effort under the Smart City Mission failed due to a conflict between the municipal body and its contractor. Although the goal was to cover the entire city, work ceased after only 85,000 plates were installed.
Tensions arose when a drone survey was mandated to replace the initially proposed GIS-based method. Despite the ₹5.7 crore project eliminating the previous ₹110 fee for residents, it still couldn’t meet its postponed deadline of 2025.
Municipal officials now assert that a complete resurvey is essential. The last comprehensive count, conducted in 2014, recorded around 400,000 properties, a number that has surely increased over the past decade. Without an updated database, existing UID records do not reflect the city’s ongoing urban expansion.
Neeru Katyal Gupta, the municipal commissioner, stated that the project remains a priority, expressing that the city is looking into central government schemes for fresh funding to restart the installation process.
The project’s history has been marred by logistical challenges. A 2017 attempt managed to cover only 35,000 homes before halting due to resident payment refusals. Although the second phase addressed this payment issue, bureaucratic delays and contractual conflicts left the city without the promised digital identification.
