Hyderabad
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is ready for another round of borrowings once again. With Rs 4,590 crore already outstanding, it is now looking at banks for another Rs 860 crore. Every year, GHMC asks the government for funding but is not given. This created a situation where they had to incur debts.
While the government is not giving any money, huge projects are been undertaken by GHMC and it is inevitable that it will incur debts to complete the work. The government has not allocated the required amount of funds to GHMC in any budget after the bifurcation. As a result, the Corporation which is in the surplus budget before the state reorganization is struggling to pay salaries to its staff every month.
GHMC had stopped paying bills to its contractors for the last six months. As much as 1000 Crore worth of bills were pending. The Corporation is gearing up to increase the Property Tax for commercial and non-commercial properties to bridge the revenue gap. The GHMC is seeking 2500 Crore in the State Budget this time. It has to be seen if there will be any allocation in the budget which will be tabled in a few days. There are no allocations in the state budget in 2021-22 as well.