Hyderabad, August 27: The Bharatiya Janata Party has taken strong objection to the proposed 30 per cent hike in the Property Tax. It said that the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, instead of concentrating on providing better civic amenities, was bent upon to increase its revenue by abnormal increase in the Property Tax.
In a pressnote here today, the party national secretary, Dr K Laxman, stated that the BJP has failed to understand on what basis the tax hike has been planned. The explanation of the GHMC officials that the per capita tax was over Rs 1,000 in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, while the PT was only Rs 500 in Hyderabad. Yet, the citizens are not prepared to accept the hike.
Dr Laxman observed that the GHMC should know that the basic amenities, sanitation and other services in those cities were far better. He also pointed out that even if there was a drizzle in the capital city, the citizens are forced to remain indoors. Regular vehicular traffic jams, damaged roads, the hopeless drainage system without manhole covers were resulting in deaths. Bad sanitation, inhygienic conditions and no lung spaces were making Hyderabad a concrete jungle and highly polluted city.
The BJP leader has advised the GHMC, instead of contemplating irrational hike in Property Tax, it should concentrate on providing better civic amenities and think of reasonable increase in the tax with the consent of the citizens and all political parties.
As of now, Rs 370 crores was being collected by the GHMC towards Property Tax. He felt that the GHMC can improve its tax collection by bringing the unassisted houses and commercial establishments into tax net. In the also recently regularized houses, the Corporation may get an additional revenue of Rs 100 crores, he added.
——-NSS