HYDERABAD: With the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections round the corner, the TRS government is all set to shower gifts on voters. The sops include waiver of water cess dues, decrease of property tax and formation of five new municipalities. The property tax for the year for middle and lower middle class people will be around Rs 101 per year.
According to sources in Municipal Administration department, the government is for an exercise to decrease the property tax for middle and lower middle class citizens.
Sources said if the annual rental value (ARV) of the house is Rs 4,100 or less, then the proposed property tax will be only Rs 101 per year. This will benefit 5,09,187 property tax assessees in Hyderabad.
“The file is being circulated and the orders may be issued very soon,” official sources said. With the reduction of property tax to Rs 101 per year, the expected loss to GHMC is around Rs 90 crore. “We have asked the government to compensate the amount,” official sources added.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also has in principle agreed to waive off the power bill dues of people who consume less than 100 units per month and unable to pay the bills due to financial problems. The total burden for power bill waiver will be Rs 128 crore. The decision will benefit around 6 lakh domestic consumers in the state.
The CM is also mulling waiver of water tax dues to around 3 lakh people who belong to the marginalised sections of the society. Waiving of the water dues will cost Rs 295 crore to the exchequer. The poor who have piped water supplys were not paying water bills due to financial problems since last two years.
Also, the government has decided to create five new municipalities around Hyderabad. Jalpalli, Meerpet, Jillellaguda, Boduppal and Peerzadiguda will be upgraded as municipalities within a month.
Jalpalli municipality will be created by merging Kothapet, Pahadishariff and parts of Balapur. The popiulation of the municipality will be 66,960 and the non-agriculture revenue is Rs 1.82 crore now.