EBS: GHMC nets record Rs 742 crore

HYDERABAD: The Early Bird Scheme (EBS) proved to be a huge hit for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), with the civic body collecting Rs 742.41 crore as against last year’s collection of Rs 541 crore. Of the 17.48 lakh assessments in GHMC, over 7.26 lakh owners utilised the opportunity to avail 5  per cent rebate on their property tax. The rebate is only for the current year’s tax, not for arrears accumulating from previous years.

The EBS ended on March 31, and the GHMC has made it clear that there would be no extension. Last year, the scheme was extended till May-end on account of Covid-19. The Khairatabad Zone topped the list in the tax collection with Rs 199.58 crore while Charminar Zone netted Rs 46.36 crore. The zone-wise collections under EBS were:- LB Nagar Zone (Rs 105 crore), Charminar Zone (Rs 46.36 crore), Khairatabad Zone (Rs 199.58 crore), Serilingampally Zone (Rs 156.58 crore), Kukatpally Zone (Rs 117.94 crore) and Secunderabad Zone (Rs 116.15 crore). The GHMC has set a target of Rs 1,755 crore for the current financial year (2022-23) from 17.48 lakh assessments.

High collections for 141 ULBs

Even the other 141 ULBs in the State registered record-high collections and surpassed the previous year’s tax collection by over Rs 100 crore.Between April 1 and 30, 2022, the ULBs collected Rs 222.85 crore from as many as 3,53,82 assessments. During the same period last year, the collection of Rs 122.32 crore.The high property collections under the EBS this time was possible as the CDMA has appointed Special Officers at the State-level to monitor the collections as well as directed ULBs to appoint Special Officers at the ULB level.