Ghaziabad ex-councillors oppose new property tax hike
Several former councillors of the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation on Wednesday objected to the civic body's newly implemented property tax structure, calling it disproportionately high and likely to increase the financial burden on residents.
The revised tax system, effective from April 1, 2025, is based on updated rental values authorised by the state government earlier this month. These values form the basis for calculating property tax and, according to corporation officials, apply to over 600,000 properties under its jurisdiction.
At a press conference in Raj Nagar, former councillors Rajendra Tyagi (Raj Nagar), Himanshu Mittal (Kavi Nagar), and Anil Swami (Nehru Nagar), along with social activists, said they have sent formal complaints to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, chief secretary, and the urban development department, seeking immediate review of the new rates.
'As per the earlier structure, the rental value factor ranged from ₹0.96 to ₹1.45 depending on the road width. Under the new system, this has jumped to ₹3.5– ₹4. That's a multiple-fold increase and will severely impact households,' Tyagi said.
Annual tax is calculated by multiplying the property's covered area by the monthly rental value per square foot, and then by 12. Prior to April 2024, monthly rental values ranged from ₹0.32 to ₹1.61 per sq ft for properties on roads less than 12 metres wide; ₹0.48 to ₹2 for roads 12–24 metres wide; and ₹0.65 to ₹2.41 for wider roads.
However, now, the revised values now range from ₹0.75 to ₹3.50; ₹0.75 to ₹3.75; and ₹1 to ₹4, for the respective road widths.
Tyagi also pointed out that a previous board resolution had mandated only a 10% increase in rental values every two years, effective until March 31, 2025. 'Despite that, the new structure has been enforced from April 1, 2024 — a clear violation of the resolution. Rates in Ghaziabad are now higher than those in Meerut, Saharanpur, Prayagraj, Agra, and Aligarh. If this continues, we may have to approach the high court,' he added.
The councillors also made public the documents and government orders in connection with the property-tax structure.
The councillors also demanded that the corporation implement age-based rebates, as provided under the UP Municipal Corporation Act.
'Depending on the age of the property, owners are eligible for rebates ranging from 25% to 40%. This provision must be enforced to offer relief to citizens,' said Mittal. 'While the common man is being burdened, large sums remain unpaid by various state and central government departments. The focus should be on recovering those dues.'
Property tax in Ghaziabad includes three components -- house tax (10%), sewage/drainage tax (4%), and water tax (10%).
Repeated attempts to reach municipal commissioner Vikramaditya Malik on Wednesday went unanswered. Chief tax assessment officer Sanjeev Sinha also did not respond, despite having been sent the documents shared by the councillors.
However, speaking to HT earlier on April 9, Malik had said: 'New properties will be assessed under the revised structure. Older properties will move to the new rates during their scheduled revision cycle, which occurs every four years. However, if we find that a property is under-assessed or structurally altered, the new rates will apply immediately.'
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