By bringing in under-assessed and unassessed properties into its
purview with utilisation of satellite property mapping technology, the
Department of Municipal Administration is expecting at least a 25% rise
in property tax revenue this financial year in the 72 Urban Local Bodies
(ULBs) across Telangana.

Highlights and honours

Commissioner
and Director of Municipal Administration (CDMA) T.K. Sreedevi said on
Wednesday that the increase in revenue would happen without increasing
the tax rates. “This is being done without increasing the tax rates, but
concentrating on the under-assessed and unassessed properties in
municipal areas. We will utilise Geographic Information System (GIS) and
satellite mapping technology to ensure all properties are assessed.
Already, there was a 14% increase in tax collection amounting to Rs. 42
crore over the base rate so far,” she explained.

Highlighting the
Department’s achievements over this year, she said that the Skoch medal
was awarded for taking 23 municipal services online. “Land registry can
now be done through satellite mapping, while complaint redressal and
ease of doing business have been simplified,” she told a media briefing.

Ms.
Sreedevi claimed that the emphasis on online services at citizen
service centres across ULBs had eliminated the need for middlemen. This
was aided by mobile applications like Citizen Buddy, she said.

She
took pride in the fact that most ULBs are ready to be declared Open
Defecation Free, according to the wishes of the Municipal Administration
Minister K.T. Rama Rao and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
Construction of ‘She’ toilets and public toilets through the involvement
of self-help groups paid dividends, the director added. “We had a
brainstorming session with ULBs about our short-term and long-term
priorities as an exercise before going ahead with implementation of
plans,” said Ms. Sreedevi.

Resource efficiency

Besides,
ULBs were also provided the necessary expertise and guidance for
reducing wasteful expenditure as well as energy saving. “Almost 3.35
lakh LED lights have been installed, converting it from conventional
lightning in 36 ULBs. With another 20,000 street-lights to be retrofit,
all ULBs would be equipped with energy efficient streetlights,” she
quipped.

The CDMA said ULBs in the State had become eligible for
grants under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation
(AMRUT) scheme and the 14th Finance Commission due to adherence to
audits and efficient financial performance coupled with service-level
benchmarks, issuance of certificates and sanitation.

Skill development

The
Department was equally focused on providing skill development training
to the unemployed urban youth, she said. While emphasis would be on
providing soft skills for the IT/ITES industries, it would also train
youth to get jobs in the manufacturing sector.

In this light, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the National Small Scale Industries Corporation, said Ms. Sreedevi.

Also,
making use of the Centre’s Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme, the CDMA has
been trying to dovetail the banks and other financial institutions to
provide loans and promote self housing for the low and middle income
families with annual income up to Rs. 18 lakh, she concluded.

Emphasis
on online services at citizen service centres across ULBs eliminated
the need for middlemen. This was aided by mobile applications like
Citizen Buddy.

T.K. Sreedevi

Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration