Urban Local Bodies in red

A meagre `23 crore collected as property tax as against target of `635 crore

Hyderabad: Urban Local bodies (ULBs) in Telangana state, excluding GHMC, are on the verge of financial crisis this year as the municipalities could collect Rs 23.5 crore as property tax against the target of Rs 635 crore so far.

Property tax, it may be mentioned, is the main source of revenue for the effective functioning of the urban bodies. Five Municipal Corporations -- Khammam, Nizamabad, Ramagundam, Warangal and Karimangar -- collected Rs 10.5 crore as property taxes out of the Rs 142 crore target during the first two quarters of financial year 2016-17 . The total balance of the tax collection, including arrears and penalty, is Rs 131 crore.

A senior official of the Municipal Administration and Urban Development told The Hans India, the main reason for not able to reach the targets was the overindulgence of political leaders in the process of tax collection.

In many cases, sources said, the authorities were obstructed from collecting the arrears pending for years from the property owners. In some cases, tax-payers evaded the payment of property tax in collusion with the officials. Lack of transparency in monitoring the tax collections left the urban bodies in deep financial crisis, the official explained.

The financial position of 67 municipalities was also bad. As against the target of nearly Rs 400 crore revenues, they mopped up only Rs 13 crore.

On one side, the state government stopped the release of funds earmarked to the ULBs and on the other side the local urban bodies failed to collect the taxes which resulted in many development scheme not taking off this year. Officials said under the master plan, every municipality had prepared plans for the development of road network, strengthening the sewage and drainage system and the maintenance of solid waste management this year.

Patan Afzal Babu