Govt moots new property tax, water bill payment system

Hyderabad: Aiming to streamline the revenue generation system, the State govt has come up with a proposal to collect property taxes by the GHMC and water bills by the Hyderabad Water Board in easy monthly installments on the lines of power bills

which are issued by the Energy department regularly every month.

On the instructions of the Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, the GHMC and Water Board began the exercises to simplify the existing taxation system. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation collects property tax every six months or a year and the water bills are being collected from the residents who consumed more than 20,000 liters only. Official sources said that the DISCOMS are issuing monthly power bills and also provide an online platform to pay the bills through UPI. The consumers are using technological advancements to pay the bills regularly.

On the same lines, a new system will be developed to pay property tax, water bill and garbage collection bill on a monthly basis.

In the recent meeting, the CM also told the officials that the payment of property tax and water bills in easy monthly installments would also reduce burden on the consumers. He also suggested that there should be a citizen-friendly easy payment system to pay these bills every month through all these payment platforms along with UPI. The CM wanted a fixed last date to pay the bills every month and impose a fine if they failed. The energy wing is successfully imposing fine charges from those who failed to pay the power bills before the last date. A proposal to offer incentives to those who pay the property tax and water bills promptly and also concessions for them in the last month of every year is under consideration.

The Chief Minister has also issued instructions to the officials of the Finance Department to make arrangements to deposit the revenues generated from the LRS in the accounts of the Municipal Corporation directly.