HYDERABAD: The Early Bird Scheme (EBS) introduced by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has failed to meet targets and could collect Rs 363 crore against the target of Rs 600 crore. The ongoing pandemic dented the revenue collection under EBS between April 1 and April 30. On the request of GHMC Commissioner D S Lokesh Kumar, the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) extended EBS scheme for the entire State for another month, i.e., from May 1 to 31.
A senior GHMC official alleged that a few deputy municipal commissioners (DC) have deliberately ignored the property tax collections in April and warned of consequences in June if the lax behaviour continues.
It was found that the performance of six DCs was extremely poor and were only able to collect 35 to 50 per cent of their target. Twelve DCs collected about 50 to 60 per cent of their targets, while another 12 collected above 60 per cent. The average and poorly performing DCs have been instructed to work hard to achieve the target this month by motivating the revenue staff.
Sources said the target set by the civic body could not be reached due to the prevailing Covid-19 crisis, and many prompt tax payers this time couldn’t pay due to financial constraints, while others wanted to keep aside money for future medical emergency needs.
From April 1 to 30, an amount of Rs 363.87 crore was collected from as many over 2.85 lakh property owners under the EBS last month, whereas,in the last financial year 2020-21 (EBS scheme ie, April and May) a total of Rs 573.73 crore was collected by over 5.20 lakh property owners.