The newly formed executive committee of the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation has rejected the civic body’s proposal to hike house tax and referred the matter to the Board. The committee has, however, cleared the corporation’s proposed budget of Rs 1367.82 crore for the financial year 2022-23. The budget will now be presented before the GMC Board for its final approval, officials have said.
“The house tax hike proposal has been rejected by the GMC executive committee. GMC had proposed to levy more tax on houses in affluent localities as compared to the less developed areas, but it now stands rejected,” a civic body official told TOI on Saturday.
“The committee members were of the view that it would not be prudent to burden people by raising taxes during the pandemic.”
The GMC, however, has its options open. “Under the UP Municipal Corporation Act, 1959, the house tax structure should be reviewed every two years. The proposal will now be placed before the GMC Board. And as per law, we can still refer the house tax hike proposal to the state government which can overrule the board or the executive committee. So, we are keeping our options open,” said the official.
Of the Rs 1367.82 crore expenditure proposed in the budget, GMC plans to spend a large chunk of it on roads. The civic body intends to spend Rs 189.35 cr on maintenance and construction of roads in the city. “Sanitation is another area where we intend to spend more and Rs 164 crore has been proposed under the head. To strengthen water infrastructure in the city, GMC plans to spend Rs 84.55 crore,” the official said.
In an attempt to boost its coffers, GMC has made it mandatory for telecom companies to take licence for installing mobile towers. “The rate has been fixed at Rs 25,000. Another important proposal that has been given the go-ahead by the committee is the construction of 30 pink toilets in the city,” he said.
The committee has, however, referred to the Board the Integrated Parking Management System (IPMS) proposal. “Under IPMS, we plan to integrate all the 30 parking lots of the GMC. The proposal has been forwarded to the GMC Board for further deliberations, but mayor Asha Sharma did raise an objection that the contract to implement IPMS should not be given to one private firm,” the official added. Under IPMS, an integrated control room will be set up which will be linked to mobile apps through which residents can get an update on the occupancy of cars at a particular parking lot.
