Nizamabad municipality Tax collections at a snail’s pace

Nizamabad: The Nizamabad municipality has been upgraded into a municipal corporation with 50 divisions in the year 2005 from a special grade municipality. But it is not able to mobile enough taxes to carry out developmental activities in the city.

Although taxes worth lakhs of Rupees should have been flowing into the treasury by now, it is able to collect only thousands of rupees. This is because the municipal corporation, which has the constitutional power to collect taxes is unable to do from the big businessmen and other upper strata of the society, though it is able to force the middle calluses to pay up.

The Nizamabad city grew by leaps and bounds and several big shopping malls and complexes have come up along with the rise in the population. According to the 2011 Census, the population was 3,10, 467.

The owners of these big shopping malls and complexes, who are making lot of profits, owe arrears worth crores of Rupees on property taxes, they are not paying up and the State government is also not in a position to make them cough up the taxes due to the indifference of the officials concerned and the support that they are getting from the local political leaders. This is making the municipal corporation bleed financially.

There are more than 212 shopping complexes in the city and many of them are owned by the municipal corporation. However, what is disturbing is that the shopkeepers do not pay rental charges to the corporation regularly, which has shot up to a total of Rs 6 crore. With the officials of the Revenue Department and the Municipal Corporation turning a blind eye, the shop keepers have also become indifferent in paying up their dues.

Although the municipal corporation, in one of its general body meetings, passed a resolution to generate its own resources without waiting for State government funds, nothing is happening on this front. The municipal corporators thought that they could take up minor developmental activities.

In order to increase the income, 66 shops have been constructed on one side and 18 shops on another near Khaleelwadi at Tilak Gardens in the city. Several other buildings were constructed at Ahmedpura with a total of 212.

These shops were given for rent on a lease of 25 years. However, the disturbing act is that the corporation is not able to generate income or mobilize resources.

Speaking to The Hans India here on Tuesday, the Commissioner of Nizamabad Municipal Corporation, Y Nageshwar said that it was true that several big businessmen and shopkeepers have not paid their rents or property taxes.

He warned that they collected taxes and issued notices to them. He warned that their shops would be sealed if they still refuse to pay up their arrears.