Owing to the Early Bird scheme, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) property tax collection for FY 2022-23 gets off to a flying start by generating Rs 708 crore in revenue during the first month of the financial year. This is 23% more compared to the 2020-21, when the scheme was launched, which collected Rs 572. 29 crore.
The GHMC counters saw significant q ueue lines on Saturday as residents tried to avail themselves of the scheme as it expires on April 30. In a bid to encourage early payments, the Early Bird scheme offers a five perce nt rebate on property tax to property owners. Official data shows that 7. 18 lakh people have paid property tax across all six zones.
The highest collection was recorded at Se rilingampally circle with Rs 87 crore followed by Jubilee Hills which is Rs 75 crore and Khairatabad at Rs 61 crore. The scheme kicked off on April 1 and officials estimate that the GHMC could add an additional Rs 700 crore to its cof- fers this financial year, thanks to the scheme.
While the service is available online at https://onlinepayments. ghmc. gov. in, only Rs 325 crore has been collected through its website. While the rest paid the amount via citizen services centres, MeeSeva centres and bill collectors. “This year’s response to the Early Bird scheme is a sign that people are bouncing back and more people are able to afford to pay property taxes in the first month of the financial year. This is will increase the overall pro perty tax collection for this financial year significantly,” a senior GHMC official said.
During the 2021-22 financial year, the GHMC failed to reach its property tax collection target of Rs 1,852 crore and achieved only Rs 1,495 crore. Officials n ote that the failure in achieving the property tax target is owing to the losses caused by the second and third wave of Co vid pandemic.
