- विज्ञापन -
Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has seized the Taj Banjara hotel in the affluent Banjara Hills area due to its failure to pay property tax. GHMC officials reported that the hotel management owed Rs 1.43 crore in dues, which remained unpaid despite multiple notices.
After the issuance of a ‘Red notice’ and continued non-payment over the past two years, the civic authorities took action to seize the property located on Road Number 3. Following the seizure, the hotel management stated that they would settle the outstanding dues by the end of the day.
GHMC officials emphasized their commitment to enforcing property tax collection, indicating they would not hesitate to seize properties from defaulters. The corporation is currently facing a total property tax backlog of Rs 9,800 crore from property owners within its jurisdiction. For the current financial year, GHMC aims to collect Rs 2,200 crore in property tax, having raised Rs 1,400 crore so far.
Out of the 2.3 million buildings in GHMC limits, only 1.2 million owners consistently pay their property taxes. In the previous financial year, the GHMC collected Rs 320 crore from 108,000 properties.
Commissioner K. Ilambarithi has instructed officials to take all necessary steps to recover outstanding property tax dues. As part of these efforts, the GHMC plans to reintroduce the One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme.
Additionally, the GHMC will hold a ‘Property Tax Parishkaram’ every Saturday from February 22 to March 29 at all its circle offices to address long-standing property tax issues. This grievance redressal program, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., will cover various matters, including tax disputes, revision petitions, property tax assessment corrections, payment options, online arrears clearance, court case resolutions, IGRS issues, self-assessment, and other tax-related concerns.
