After 13 years, property tax set to go up in Ghaziabad

Delhi/NCR
Residents of Ghaziabad could soon be coughing up more as property tax, with the municipal corporation proposing a hike in rental values across the city. The proposal will be put up for approval in the board meeting of Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation scheduled to be held on Wednesday (November 12).

Property rental values were last revised in Ghaziabad in 2001. Following that revision, made nearly 13 years ago, rental values of properties have been fixed in the range of Rs 1.20 to Rs 4.50 per sq. ft depending on the area, ranging from low-end localities to high-end residential areas. “Due to a variety of reasons, the rental values could not be increased in the past few years. Rules of the UP Municipal Corporation Act, 1959, stipulate that the rates have to be mandatorily revised every two years,” said additional municipal commissioner A K Gupta.

The proposal to hike taxes has, however, met with a certain degree of opposition from sitting councillors of different political parties in the municipal corporation.

“Instead of burdening existing tax payers, the corporation should bring in more number of property owners under the tax ambit. The executive committee of the municipal corporation has agreed on a flat 25% increase in rental values but a section of councillors want the rates to be slightly lower,” said Mukesh Tyagi, councillor and spokesperson for the mayor.

As many as 38 different proposals on different issues will be put up for approval in the board meeting scheduled for Wednesday. They include allotment of land for a graveyard for the Christian community; revision of mutation charges of shops; strengthening of the embankment around the Arthala Lake; and so on.

The municipal corporation’s executive committee – comprising 12 representatives culled from different political parties in the council – has arrived at a consensus to give the go-ahead for a 25% hike. However, opinion has been divided among councillors over rental value hike with some sections vouching for as low as a 10% hike.

Residents said the hike in rental values should be reasonable and should be ploughed into improving civic services of the city. “A number of properties in the city have never assessed for taxes by the municipal corporation which is leading to huge losses for the exchequer. There should be horizontal expansion of the tax base. Residents are unlikely to oppose the move as long as the hike is reasonable,” said S K Maheshwari, general secretary, RWA Federation of Ghaziabad.

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