Candidates clear dues ahead of polls, municipalities rake in Rs.75 lakh

Municipal elections in Mancherial district helped five civic bodies collect Rs 75 lakh by clearing pending property tax and tap connection bills. Candidates paid dues to obtain no-due certificates, boosting revenue between January 28 and 30

Mancherial: Municipal elections helped five civic bodies in the district collect arrears of property tax and water tap connection bills, fetching a total income of Rs 75 lakh.

Candidates contesting the municipal polls were required to submit no-due certificates issued by civic officials while filing nominations from divisions and wards. As a result, several candidates cleared pending property tax dues and tap connection bills. They paid amounts ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 to obtain the certificates, enabling the five municipalities to generate additional revenue.

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Officials said Mancherial Municipal Corporation earned Rs 25.49 lakh through property tax payments made by candidates belonging to various political parties and Independents between January 28 and 30. Bellampalli civic body collected property tax amounting to Rs 8.80 lakh, while Kyathanpalli and Luxettipet municipalities registered receipts of Rs 4.88 lakh and Rs 4.50 lakh respectively.

Similarly, Chennur municipality recorded an income of Rs 1.79 lakh in the form of property tax during the three-day period. Mancherial Municipal Corporation also collected Rs 11.04 lakh towards tap connection bills, while Bellampalli and Luxettipet civic bodies registered an income of Rs 3 lakh through such bills. The issuance of no-due certificates alone fetched Rs 7.36 lakh for the corporation.

Overall, the five civic bodies earned Rs 45.45 lakh through property tax, Rs 17.14 lakh through tap connection bills and Rs 13.01 lakh as fees for issuing no-due certificates. A total of 1,599 nominations were filed from the five municipalities, of which 1,117 nominations submitted by 1,061 candidates were approved by officials.