Gzb: Corporation to recover service charges of ₹92 crorefrom Indirapuram residents
The MoU between the GDA and the corporation was signed on September 6, 2024, for the handover of Indirapuram on condition that the authority will pay the civic body ₹185 crore for the upgrade of infrastructure facilities
Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad municipal corporation will now realise the pending amount of nearly ₹92 crore from residents in Indirapuram after the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) handed over a list to the civic agency as part of the handover process. Officials said that apart from the pending service charges, the corporation has also started sending property tax bills for the current fiscal year.
The MoU between the GDA and the corporation was signed on September 6, 2024, for the handover of Indirapuram on condition that the authority will pay the civic body ₹185 crore for the upgrade of infrastructure facilities.
One of the conditions also mentioned that the pending service charges due to the GDA for the provision of civic services in Indirapuram, will now be realised by the municipal corporation.
“In line, the authority has given us a list of pendency of about ₹92 crores, which is due from the residential and commercial establishments on account of service charges. The majority of the amount is pending from local households and high-rises. This will now be realised by the corporation. Further, we will also be charging property tax assessed from April 1, 2024. We are sending bills for pending service charges as well as property tax,” said Sanjeev Sinha, the corporation’s chief tax-assessment officer.
When the handover was pending, the GDA had levied service charges while the corporation charged only the house tax component from residents in Indirapuram.
The officials said that after the handover has come into effect, the corporation will now additionally charge the two remaining components of the property tax: sewage/drainage tax and water tax.
The residents said that service charges mostly remained pending due to different reasons. “Sewage infrastructure needs a major upgrade in Indirapuram and residents were regularly demanding upgrades. Further, there has been a growth in terms of the construction of multiple flats on single-unit plot properties. The authority in many cases sent service charge bills on a per-floor basis instead of a per-flat basis. So, these issues hindered the payment of service charges. If the corporation sends demand notices on a per-flat basis, residents will surely have no hesitation in paying up,” said Mohan Sangwan, a resident of Shakti Khand, Indirapuram.
Indirapuram is spread over an area of about 1,222 acres and comprises 52,572 households besides other commercial establishments, said officials.
GDA officials said that the pending service charges accumulated over a long period. “There was a huge pendency of service charges in Indirapuram since the beginning. Before the handover process, we set up many camps and realised substantial amounts. Demand letters were sent for realising the pending service charges. Now, the pending amount will be charged by the corporation after the township is handed over,” said Rudresh Shukla, GDA’s media coordinator.
