Ghaziabad corporation’s board okays 15% hike in property tax

Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad municipal corporation (GMC) during its board meeting held on Tuesday gave a go ahead for a “pending” 15% increase in property tax

Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad municipal corporation (GMC) during its board meeting held on Tuesday gave a go ahead for a “pending” 15% increase in property tax. The decision will impact about 364,000 properties under the jurisdiction of the corporation, officials said.

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The corporation’s board also cleared a proposal related to handing over its 5,800 square metres of land at Makanpur to the health department for development of a government hospital in the trans-Hindon area of the city.

“During the board meeting, it was decided that the pending hike of 15% in house tax should be implemented. The hike (5% each year) was pending for the past two financial years and the current year,” said MS Tanwar, commissioner, GMC.

In 2016, the corporation board had decided to hike 5% in property tax each year in order to generate more revenues. The GMC earns about ₹150 crore on account of the property tax. However, during the financial years of 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22, the tax increase was put on hold due to different reasons, the officials said.

The board also passed the budget for the current fiscal 2021-22, with ₹946 crore expenditure and an income of ₹1,197 crore.

“With the clearance of the budget, we will fast-track different civic infrastructure projects. It was also decided that ₹1 crore will be spent in each of the 100 residential wards during the year. A library has been proposed in each of the five corporation zones. Besides, to plug the revenue leakage, it was decided that computerised charges deduction should be taken up at 37 parking lots operated by the corporation,” said Arun Kumar Mishra, accounts officer of the corporation.

On the clearance of the proposal to give the land for a government hospital in trans-Hindon area, Tanwar said, “The land will be handed over free of cost to the health department for development of a hospital. The transfer would be done with the process of resumption through the state government.”

The health department had been searching for a land for the development of a hospital for almost a decade amid demands from residents for a government medical facility in the trans-Hindon area. The move will pave the way for a 100-bed hospital at Makanpur (Indirapuram).

The board meeting was held at Hindi Bhawan in Lohia Nagar in the wake of Covid protocols and several important issues were discussed, including the contentious issue of development of a multi-level underground parking at Ambedkar Park in Navyug Market.

Meanwhile, as the board meeting commenced in the morning, hundreds of people from the colonies near Navyug Market walked to the meeting venue and staged a protest for about two hours, demanding shifting of the parking project to a different place.

The officials said that the protesters were pacified with assurance that they will look for another place. “The board members have asked for change of place of the project. So, we will proceed in the matter after due deliberations,” said the municipal commissioner.

The cost of project, which will be developed under the state smart city mission, is pegged at ₹44 crore. The corporation has already sent the detailed project report of the project that will accommodate 235 cars to the state government for approval.