Vizag, Vijayawada see dip in tax collections, other ULBs fare better  

VIJAYAWADA: Even as most of the urban local bodies (ULBs), which are in the top 10 list of contributors to tax collections, have fared better this year, the top two contributors Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada ULBs have seen a decline of 6.8 per cent and 8.3 per cent, respectively, in collections so far this year compared to the corresponding period last year. 

The overall property tax collections, however, is up by 19 per cent, and water charges collection by 34 per cent, according to the municipal administration department’s revenue dashboard. While Vizag ULB contributed Rs 221.58 crore till March 12 in the last fiscal year, its cumulative collections as of Friday stood at Rs 206.59 crore, down by 6.8 per cent this year. The collection is just 22.4 per cent of the proportional and total tax demand of Rs 922.19 crore. Similarly, Vijayawada ULB, which has a total demand of Rs 298.44 crore, has managed to collect Rs 88.79 crore as against Rs 96.82 crore last year. 

The other eight of the top 10 — Guntur, Nellore, Tirupati, Kunrool, Rajamahendravaram, Kakinada, Anantapur and Kadapa —  saw an increase in the collections with Kurnool and Nellore ULBs seeing the highest at 40.7 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively. Kandukur, Nuzivid, Ponnurm, Mandapet and Jangareddygudem saw over 80 per cent decline in their collections. Officials said that they expect the collections to improve in the coming weeks as the fiscal year is set to end.

Meanwhile, the property tax collections saw 19.1 per cent increase. As against the targeted Rs 2,951 crore, Rs 1,072 crore was collected this year. Last year on March 12, it was Rs 900.41 crore. The water charge collections, which has a target of Rs 561.22 crore, stood at 195.74 crore this year (last year  Rs 146.1 crore).