Property taxation based on environmental efficiency is a powerful tool to achieve the objective.

Property taxation prevalent in Greater Kochi is often unscientific and arbitrary. For environmentally efficient development management, property taxation based on environmental efficiency is a powerful tool to achieve the objective. The constituent part of environmental efficiency are

• µ = land utility index
• a = accessibility index
• ß = per capita built up
• d = ecosystem disturbance factor of the grid in which building is located.

In the case of residential buildings efficiency evaluation formula can be further modified to accommodate the effective space utilization constant.

Concept of effective space/ land utilisation constant of residential buildings

Common facilities provided in apartments or gated communities directly contribute to human development as those facilities are adjacent to residence and the chances of using the facility are more. Usual common facilities attached to apartment complexes are jogging track, swimming pool, health and yoga clubs, shuttle court, basket ball court, Table tennis ,libraries etc which contribute to health and education component of human development. Per capita ecological foot print of common facilities is less as it is under common ownership and thus shared the facility.
Suppose in an apartment complex, there are ‘x’ number of apartments .

• Individual area of each apartment is Ai and common area is Ac
• Effective area of each apartment is Ai+Ac while actual area is Ai+Ac/x,
• Effective space utilization constant= Ai+Ac/Ai+Ac/x
• Where ‘x’ is the number of units
• Ai is the area occupied by individual apartment
• Ac is the common area of the apartment

Mode of Taxation, occupied buildings

In the case of occupied buildings property tax charged shall be inversely proportional to the efficiency of the building to encourage people to put up their residence in high efficiency areas which in turn inculcate human development with less ecological foot print.

Mode of Taxation, vacant land and buildings

In the case of vacant land in high efficiency grids, taxation shall be exorbitant to discourage people to keep the land vacant as it is non-performing. Similarly in the case high efficiency vacant buildings property taxation shall be exorbitant to prompt the land owner to rent it out so that it shall be contributing to human development with less ecological foot print.