GHMC property tax share up by Rs 344 crore

According to GHMC, the property tax collection for the financial year 2020-21 closed on Wednesday night with the revenue standing at Rs 1,701.29 crore.

Hyderabad: Despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown for months, the property tax collection of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) for the financial year 2020-21 has increased by Rs 344 crore as compared to the previous financial year 2019-20.

According to GHMC, the property tax collection for the financial year 2020-21 closed on Wednesday night with the revenue standing at Rs 1,701.29 crore. The property tax collected in 2019-20 was Rs 1,357.12 crore.

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Even as GHMC has recorded the highest ever property tax, the collection fell short by Rs 199 crore as the target was Rs 1,900 crore. The civic body’s property tax collection has grown by Rs 672 crore in the last five years, i.e, from Rs 1,029 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 1,701 crore in 2020-21.

Among the six zones in GHMC, Khairatabad zone recorded the highest property tax collection of Rs 491.69 crore followed by Serilingampally (Rs 290.28 crore) and Kukatpally (Rs 285.84 crore).

Officials said there are around 16 lakh property taxpayers in the GHMC limits of which 12.20 lakh have paid the tax. Those who have failed to remit the tax will now be penalised 24 per cent of the amount they have to pay.

The rise in property tax payment is attributed to the One Time Settlement scheme, which allowed a waiver of 90 per cent of accumulated interest arrears on property tax upon clearing the entire arrears in one go.