Hyderabad: Various departments of the central and state government owe the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) a total amount of Rs 5629 cr in property taxes, according to a Right to Information (RTI) response, from the GHMC commissioner DS Lokesh Kumar.
The central government properties and their undertakings owe Rs 371 cr to the GHMC, including Rs 172.16 cr borrowed by the South Central Railways, an amount that has been pending for nine years, and Rs 26.84 cr by the central public works department.
The RTI was filed by Forum for Good Governance secretary M Padmanabha Reddy, seeking details of the defaulters.
The defence labs and the nuclear fuel complex owe the GHMC Rs 10.68 cr and Rs 7.86 cr, respectively.
The RTI response also states that the central detective training institute owes Rs 5.31 cr, and the Salar Jung Museum owes Rs 4.48 cr.
In Telangana, the state medical department owes Rs 1185 cr, an amount built up over the last 23 years. The police department owes Rs 420 cr, while the education department and the excise department owe Rs 385 cr and Rs 895 cr, pending for the last 21 years, respectively.
According to the RTI response, apart from the many government departments, several government-owned properties are also among the defaulters. The chief minister’s residence-cum-office Pragati Bhavan also owes the GHMC Rs 32 lakh, an amount that has been pending for three years.
With the yearly ‘early bird scheme,’ the GHMC places the focus on the tax-paying public to pay their dues on time to fund the corporation’s annual budget. Rs 572.29 crore was collected in the year 2020-21. However, the total dues of the government-owned properties add up to Rs 5629 cr, which is equivalent to an entire year’s budget.
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