HYDERABAD: Ahead of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections, Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao announced Diwali gift for the residents of Hyderabad, which includes 50 per cent waiver in property tax for the owners of houses whose tax liability is up to Rs 15,000.
The state government on Saturday extended the similar benefit to 140 municipalities also in the rest of the state but it is applicable to the house owners whose tax is a maximum of Rs 10,000.
With the election dates soon to be announced, the TRS government is keen on striking a pre-emptive blow on the Opposition BJP and the Congress by announcing benefits to the residents. The TRS, having suffered an unexpected defeat in the hands of BJP in the by-election for Dubbaka Assembly seat, is bent on preventing the BJP from making any further inroads into the GHMC, which is TRS' pocket-borough.
The government also announced a hike of Rs 3,000 per month in wages to out-sourced sanitary public health workers and other field level workers whose pay would now increase from Rs 14,500 to Rs 17,500 per month.
Rama Rao, also announced that Rs 10,000 cash relief to the families affected by the recent rains will be resumed and that those who had not received the help could apply for it through Mee-Seva centres.
The property tax waiver is likely to benefit 13.72 lakh families in the GHMC limits. However, it will place Rs 194.4 crore burden on the state government.
As regards tax benefit to property owners in 140 ULBs, it will cover 17.68 lakh families for which the burden on the state government will be Rs 130 crore. Across the state, a total of 31.40 lakh families will benifit from this Diwali gift in the present financial year, which works out to a burden Rs 326.48 crore on the state.
The Minister also clarified that those who had already paid their property tax, the rebate will be adjusted in the tax payable by them nex year (2021-2022).
The government will aslo dole out Rs 10,000 cash relief for rain-affected families in Hyderabad. Rama Rao said the State Government will continue the exercise through Mee Seva centres until all beneficiaries are covered.
The families who want to avail the benefit should apply at the nearest Mee Seva centres by making a payment of Rs 20 and the relief money would be paid to them at their door steps by officials or would be credited to their bank accounts.
So far, the state government has disbursed Rs 470 crore out of the budgeted Rs 550 crore to 4.75 lakh families earmarked to assist people distressed by recent heavy rains and flooding of houses in Hyderabad last month.
For sanitary field assistants and other public health field assistants including entomology field assistants, their wages are hiked from Rs 14,500 to Rs 17,500 per month for delivering service during the trying times of COVID-19 pandemic.
This is the third hike to them since the formation of Telangana State. First time it was done in 2015 from Rs 8,500 to Rs 12,500 and again in 2017 from Rs 12,500 to Rs 14,500. There are 18,550 sanitation workers, 1,100 DRF workers and 2,300 entomology workers.