Bail out GHMC by granting Rs 5,000 cr: TDP leader to Govt

Hyderabad, Aug 25 (INN): Telugu Desam Party Floor Leader in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Singireddy Srinivas Reddy on Wednesday suggested that the state government can bail out the GHMC by nodding for a Rs 5,000 crore grant and not burden the public through a property tax hike.

Raising his partys objection to the proposed hike in property taxes within GHMC limits, Mr Srinivas Reddy wrote a letter to Chief Minister K Rosaiah where he reminded Mr Rosaiah that the GHMC had been formed duly merging the 12 Municipalities surrounding the erstwhile MCH.

He reminded Mr Rosaiah that he was the Finance Minister at that time and had said that the GHMC may realize an additional revenue income of Rs 5,000 crore approximately per annum.

The TDP Floor Leader said that after formation of GHMC, almost all the surrounding areas which were then under the respective municipalities, remain undeveloped or under-developed.

The GHMC by suo - moto or on the intervention of the State Government has initiated a substantial number of developmental works on the core areas of GHMC with a view to bring the undeveloped and under-developed surrounding areas in particular equivalent to the already developed (erstwhile) MCH, by spending most of the funds of GHMC. He said that by virtue of this, presently the GHMC is running with deficit budget. The total GHMC Treasury has vacuumed. Even the Central Government Grants issued under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission funds were also exhausted on the development of core areas. Moreover the State Government is not releasing the Grants to GHMC.

Mr Srinivas Reddy said that he State Government, instead of easing the burden of GHMC by releasing the Government grant regularly, is opting to shoulder the burden on the common public, by enhancing the Property Tax to another 30 per cent of the existing amount. It is to emphasise that, the GHMC with the approval of the Government has already increased the said property Tax by 50 per cent in the year 2008.

The TDP leader said that instead of introducing innovative measures to improve revenue income of the corporation, by easing the burden on the common man, how can the government forthrightly squeeze the common man till shedding out the last drop of their blood?

He said that the government can bail out the GHMC by releasing grants of Rs 5,000 crore to GHMC immediately and save the GHMC from bankruptcy and not to insist for enhancing the Property Tax to put unbearable burden on the shoulders of the Common Man.

Mr Srinivas Reddy appealed to Mr Rosaiah to fulfil the promise he had made in his capacity as Finance Minister.