Property tax utilisation and equity in Punjab: Policy challenges and reform options

There is an urgent need for reforming UIPT because Punjab’s high urban growth rates (Figure E.1) are creating challenges for the province in meeting the local service delivery needs of its growing urban population. This is manifested in urban citizens’ poor access to improved sources of water and sanitation, unaffordable and congested housing conditions, environmental degradation, and poor access to local public transport. Recent estimates suggest that 4 in 10 households in urban Punjab do not have toilets connected to sewers and a similar proportion lack access to underground and covered drains. Lack of decent and affordable housing has emerged as a serious challenge and a recent estimate suggests that a deficit of 6.4 million housing units exists in urban Punjab. Punjab’s urban areas have emerged as global hotspots of air pollution and there is evidence that modernizing intra-city transport infrastructure promises significant labour market returns.