HYDERABAD: The Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH)has decided to issue `red' demand notices to property tax defaulters from Monday.

This follows the civic body realising that its collections for the current financial year of 2006-2007 have touched just Rs. 165 crores.

With little over a month to go for the financial year to come to a close and the target being Rs. 225 crores, officials of the finance wing are gearing up to come down heavily on individuals and institutions yet to pay up and other big-time defaulters.

Additional Commissioner L.Vandan Kumar claimed such notices were being issued for the first time to nearly one lakh defaulters. The notice would have an acknowledgement slip for the defaulters to sign and accept. After giving a specific period of time, the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad will prepare grounds to attach the properties of such defaulters, he affirmed.

Property tax collections in the last few years have not been rising as they were since 1997 when they went up from about Rs. 58 crores in 1998-1999 to Rs. 160 crores in 2003-2004.

Revenue from the tax since then has been Rs. 166 crores and Rs. 174 crores in 2005-2006 while the target was Rs. 200 crores.

For the current financial year, to meet the stiff target of Rs. 225 crores, though they never touched Rs. 200 crores till date, officials are concentrating on identifying unassessed properties, rationalisation and identification of properties where there is a change in land use - from residential to commercial.

5 lakh assessees

There are more than five lakh assessees in MCH jurisdiction.

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