The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation head office in Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit: File photo
The revenues of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation are set to rise by 50-80% in the near future following the survey of properties undertaken by the corporation through the use of Geographic Information System (GIS).
Additional Commissioner, Revenue & IT, Sneha Shabarish, informed the Council meeting on Saturday that the GIS mapping of the properties and utilities in the city is already underway, and once it is completed, the number of properties could increase from 19 lakh to 25 lakh, registering ₹1,000-1,500 crore rise in property tax collection.
Satellite mapping of the properties has already been finished, and the drone survey is presently on, Ms. Shabarish said. Next phase will be the door-to-door survey of identified properties, she said, and sought support from all the members.
The GHMC raked in a record collection of ₹1,917 crore by way of property tax in the financial year 2023-24, which is close to 16% higher than the collection the previous year.
Agency approval for implementation of GIS based survey and mapping of properties and utilities was one among the additional agenda items placed before the general body meeting on Saturday, and deemed to have been approved by it. The agency NeoGeoInfo Technologies Private Limited has a project period of 18 months and an additional two years for operation and maintenance for application. Sanctioned project cost is ₹21.98 crore.
While the ideas of GIS mapping of properties, and drone survey are being tossed around in GHMC for over a decade, the project has not been grounded till recently, despite its proven success in other urban local bodies in terms of improving revenues.
Post the Assembly elections, the corporation has found itself in dire financial straits, owing to the big ticket infrastructural projects such as Strategic Road Development Plan taken up in the city and executed majorly through bank loans.
Loans availed by the GHMC for various projects stand at over ₹6,500 crore, on which the monthly interest amounts to ₹45 crore, apart from the quarterly payment of principal amount to the tune of ₹76 crore, sources informed. The loan term reportedly ends only in 2031-32.
