HYDERABAD: Immediately after TRS’ thumping victory in the municipal polls, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao dropped a bombshell on Saturday. Certain taxes in Municipalities and even Gram Panchayats would be hiked shortly. The new revised tax rates would come into force from April 1.
“We will not impose heavy burden on the public. We will spare the poor from the tax hike. There will be a slight upward revision of taxes. The new tax rates will be implemented from next financial year,” the CM said. He advised the reporters not to give captions like “Pannula Baadudu”. “Can we not hike taxes slightly. The need of the hour is responsible journalism,” KCR said. He said that the tax hike was proposed to provide basic amenities in towns and villages and should not be criticised for the sake of it.
He said that the tax hike would be rational and it would be implemented only after a thorough debate. He said that they were regularly giving Rs 339 crore for the Panchayats every month. “Likewise, the towns and cities too will get regular monthly funds,” he said. Like Palle Pragathi, Pattana Pragathi programme too would be implemented shortly, the CM said. Rao said that an Urban Centre of Excellence would be constructed on 20 acres in Hyderabad. The Centre would study various urban development models across the state, would impart training to employees and elected representatives, besides conducting the research on urban related matters.
KCR said that every year five to six lakh migrants were coming to Hyderabad to settle down here. All major cities like Beijing were polluted. After Beijing, Delhi was the most polluted city in the world. “Luckily, we have vast forest tracts around Hyderabad. We have to protect those urban forest areas to reduce the pollution,” the CM said.