Govt owes GHMC 1,000 crore in taxes

The Times of India: Hyderabad: Monday, November 19, 2012.

The government's dilly dallying on payment of property tax on its buildings is expected to raise hackles with the opposition during the GHMC council meeting on December 1. The property tax arrears on government buildings currently stands close to Rs 1,000 crore.

The state government has 1,186 buildings in GHMC limits which attract Rs 71 crore as property tax per annum. But the government has been making a payment of only Rs 20 crore per annum since 2005-06, resulting in around Rs 800 crore as arrears. With a penalty of 2 per cent, the government owes the corporation around 1,000 crore, accumulated for a period of more than seven years.

BJP floor leader in the corporation, Bangaru Prakash blamed the GHMC's for its inability in asking for its due. "The GHMC is harsh on ordinary citizens and businesses but it has no voice when asking the government. Other bodies like the HMWSSB and the CPDCL can threaten with discontinuation of services to get their dues but the GHMC is unable to do anything," he said.

According to well placed sources in the GHMC, the chief minister had in August 2011 agreed to the request of the GHMC commissioner to make payments of the entire tax due per year. But the GHMC mentioned only Rs 40 crore as revenue from state government buildings in its 2012-13 budget. Sources say that the GHMC is yet to receive payment for this year.

Members of Communist Party of India (Marxist) sought information on dues under the RTI and made representations to the chief secretary. "The government on the one hand is for increasing the property tax on residential and non residential buildings but does not want to make payments itself.

The GHMC should collect arrears from the government before it implements any policy to increase property tax on citizens," said M Srinivas of CPM. Miffed by the corporation's dithering to collect from the government and the government's reluctance to pay, a petition was filed in the high court last week by Federation of Association of Apartments and Colonies.

When contacted, GHMC officials tried to play down the issue by saying that arrears were common and efforts were being made from it's side to get the government to pay up.