Residents decry unequal taxes

Chaklala Cantonment Board charges Rs1,200 annually from houses measuring one to three marlas, while the rate in Rawalpindi Cantonment Board was Rs2,500, which has now been reduced to Rs2,100 annually.

For houses measuring three to five marlas, the Chaklala Cantonment rate is Rs2,000, while the Rawalpindi rate was fixed at Rs3,600 and has now been reduced to Rs3,200. In Chaklala, the annual rate for five to seven marla houses is Rs2,592, compared with Rs4,800 in Rawalpindi, which has now been reduced to Rs4,400. The annual rate for seven to 10 marla houses in Chaklala is Rs3,600, while Rawalpindi had imposed Rs5,400, reducing it to Rs5,200. Chaklala charges Rs4,800 annually for houses measuring 10 to 15 marlas, while Rawalpindi charges Rs7,000. For houses measuring 15 to 20 marlas, Chaklala collects Rs6,000 annually compared with Rs10,000 in Rawalpindi.

For 20 to 40 marla houses, the annual rate is Rs12,000 in Chaklala and Rs15,000 in Rawalpindi. For houses measuring 40 marlas or more, Chaklala charges Rs14,000 annually, compared with Rs18,000 in Rawalpindi. Meanwhile, residential water charges imposed by the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board are also a matter of concern.

For water supplied for 15 days a month, or every alternate day, annual water charges for one-to-five marla houses have been reduced from Rs14,400 to Rs12,200. The charges for five-to-seven marla houses are Rs23,000, Rs33,500 for seven-to-10 marla houses, Rs44,000 for 10-to-15 marla houses, Rs45,000 for 15-to-20 marla houses, Rs62,000 for 20-to-40 marla houses and Rs72,000 annually for houses larger than 40 marlas.

The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board has also reduced residential property tax rates for Category-B houses.

The annual tax for one-to-five marla houses has been reduced from Rs14,400 to Rs10,800, while the rate for five-to-seven marla houses has been reduced from Rs20,400 to Rs18,800. For seven-to-10 marla houses, the new annual rate is Rs28,000 against Rs30,600 previously, while the rate for 10-to-15 marla houses has been reduced from Rs40,800 to Rs37,000. The new rate for 15-to-20 marla houses is Rs40,000 against Rs43,200 previously, while the rate for 20-to-40 marla houses has been reduced from Rs56,100 to Rs52,000. For houses larger than 40 marlas, the annual property tax has been reduced from Rs66,300 to Rs60,000. The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board has also reduced the annual rental value increase for Category-C houses from 30 per cent to 20pc for 2026 to 2029.

Residents will have to pay sanitation tax, water charges and property tax. However, residents say they do not receive drinking water realities. Water is supplied every alternate day, meaning residents have to pay a full month's water charges for water supplied for only 15 days.

Except for posh cantonment areas, sanitation conditions in densely populated backyards are extremely poor. Despite property tax, the condition of paved streets, functional sewerage systems and streetlights remains similar in densely populated backyard areas as well as posh localities.

Potholes in roads and streets, dysfunctional sewerage systems and absence of streetlights have created severe difficulties for residents. The tenure of the elections held in 2021 in Rawalpindi, Chaklala and other cantonment boards across the country ended in 2025.

Residents are waiting to know when new elections will be held and when elected representatives will highlight public issues before the relevant authorities.

Several attempts were made to contact Rawalpindi Cantonment Board spokesman and Assistant Secretary Imran Habib for the board's opinion on the imposition of sanitation tax, water charges and property tax and the problems faced by residents, but he could not be reached.