Latest news with #UPMunicipalCorporationAct
Hindustan Times
30-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Ghaziabad corporation scraps property tax hike
The Ghaziabad municipal corporation on Monday rejected the proposed property tax hike after it faced stiff opposition from public representatives during a special board meeting, mayor Sunita Dayal said. Councillors protesting against the increase in house tax at Monday's board meeting. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo) 'The move to hike the tax was rejected by the board, and there will be no hike,' said Dayal. 'This year, we will take tax as per old rates,' she added. The decision came after widespread public backlash against the new tax structure, which residents claimed inflated property tax bills by three to five times. The mayor said the corporation would now conduct a detailed survey to determine accurate tax incidence based on construction status. 'This will take two to two-and-a-half months. About 100 temporary surveyors will also be roped in,' she said. The mayor further urged residents to undertake self-assessment and declare any construction on their properties to help determine accurate taxation. To be sure, the city currently has about 4.52 lakh old properties and an estimated 1.25 lakh new but untaxed properties. The current tax structure includes house tax (10%), sewage/drainage tax (4%), and water tax (10%). Monday's board meeting also saw participation from local MLAs—Sunil Sharma (Sahibabad), Sanjeev Sharma (Ghaziabad), and Ajit Pal Tyagi (Muradnagar)—and Ghaziabad MP Atul Garg. According to Sanjay Nagar councillor Ajay Sharma, 'Almost 99% of councillors and public representatives opposed the hike in property tax, which was badly implemented and adversely burdened the common man. The move will be a relief for residents.' Sanjay Singh, councillor from Shipra Sun City in Indirapuram, said the new tax structure lacked transparency and due diligence. 'It was implemented without proper homework, and this was bound to fail. Every household should know the basis of the hike transparently,' he said. When reached out to by HT, the corporation's chief tax assessment officer, Sanjeev Sinha, declined to comment. Meanwhile, three former councillors, including Rajendra Tyagi, have filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Allahabad high court. The hearing is scheduled for July 29. 'Despite the decision by the board on Monday, we will continue to pursue the PIL filed at the high court and expose shortcomings. The corporation must release the minutes of Monday's board meeting at the earliest and make it public. If the officials say that residents made additional constructions and this increased the incidence of tax, they must explain why the additional constructions were allowed to come up and who all were involved in allowing such constructions for years altogether,' Tyagi said. In their PIL, the former councillors have sought to quash the new property tax structure based on circle rates and a related order linking tax to road width. They also argued that rebates under Section 174(2)(a) of the UP Municipal Corporation Act—which offers tax relief based on a property's age—should be granted.
India Gazette
01-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Meat sale to be banned on Ram Path and Parikrama Margs in Ayodhya, says Mayor Tripathi
Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 1 (ANI): Ayodhya officials have begun action to ban meat sales along key religious routes like Ram Path and Dharma 14 Kosi Marg, issuing notices to shopkeepers after complaints were raised at CM Yogi Adityanath's Janata Darbar. Ayodhya Mayor Girish Pati Tripathi also informed that a liquor ban is also being planned. Speaking to ANI on Saturday, Mayor Tripathi said that discussions regarding the ban had been ongoing for a long time. 'It was under discussion for a very long time that the sale of meat be banned in Ayodhya. It was decided that the sale of meat must be prohibited on Ram Path,' said Tripathi. He added that steps would soon be taken to prohibit the sale of liquor in the same areas. 'We are sure that we will soon ban liquor sale too...,' he told ANI. Earlier, Food and Fertiliser Commissioner Manik Chand informed that the issue came to light during Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's Janata Darbar, when a complaint was lodged regarding meat shops in across Ram Path, Bhakti Path, Dharma Path and 14 Kosi Marg. Following the complaint, a team was formed to inspect the shops. Commissioner Chand confirmed that 22 meat shops were found running across these religious routes. 'A complaint was received during CM Yogi Adityanath's Janata Darbar that meat shops are running on Ram Path, Dharma 14 Kosi Parikrama Marg and Panchkosi Marg. We formed a team and inspected all the shops.', Commissioner Chand told ANI. 'All the meat shops are being issued notices, and they have been given a 7-day time limit to relocate their shops somewhere else. Action will be taken if they fail to do so... There are 22 meat shops on Ram Path, Bhakti Path and Dharma Path and 14 Kosi Marg... If there are any other shops, they will also face a similar procedure,' Chand said. Earlier in March, the Uttar Pradesh government, headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, had issued strict orders to shut down illegal slaughterhouses and enforce a ban on the sale of meat within a 500-meter radius of religious sites. A strict ban on animal slaughter and meat sales will be enforced on April 6, 2025, during Ram Navami. Under the UP Municipal Corporation Act, 1959, and the Food Safety Acts of 2006 & 2011, the Yogi government has directed officials to take strict action against violators. (ANI)
Hindustan Times
24-04-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
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.'
