‘Dirty tricks’ to extract tax dues

Hyderabad: In a novel technique to extract pending dues and make public the identities of property tax defaulters, the GHMC, Circle 10 officials have blocked the defaulters’ properties by placing dustbins at their entrances. The officials on Thursday visited 10 defaulters and blocked the entrances to their properties with dustbins.

The defaulters include Saritha Rao (Banjara Hills Rd No. 1; Rs 8.70 lakh due); Jubilee Hills Cooperative Society (Rd No. 45; Rs 6 lakh due); MSR Towers (Rd No. 36; Rs 90 lakh due); Ramky Estate (Somajiguda; Rs 3.75 lakh due); Habeeb Mujtaba (Somajiguda; Rs 4.8 lakh); G. Jayanand (Somajiguda; Rs 20 lakh) and; G. Mallesh (Somajiguda; Rs 1.7 lakh). M.S.S. Somaraju, Circle 10 deputy commissioner, said “After placing the bins, four of the defaulters have paid up. Unless dues are cleared, the bins will not be removed.”

Dustbins also greeted customers at the entrance of the SBI branch at Kulsumpura, Karwan. The property was seized by the GHMC for non-payment of tax arrears of around Rs 9 lakh. Meanwhile, East Zone commissioner Raghu Prasad said the Hyderabad Cricket Association has not yet cleared its tax dues of Rs 12.06 crore. “If the dues are not cleared,  the GHMC will disconnect all civic amenities of the Uppal stadium.”