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Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) has adopted a stern measure to counter mounting tax arrears by deciding to disconnect water-supply and drainage connections for residential and commercial properties that have not cleared long-pending dues - including property tax, vacant land tax, water charges and tap fees. The enforcement comes under pressure of rising uncollected revenues and seeks to place accountability on civic officials to ensure compliance city-wide. Ward secretaries missing daily collection targets risk show-cause notices or suspension. Major defaulters will receive final demand notices, followed by service disconnections, issuance of red notices, and - for high-value cases - potential property attachment and auction.
The Guntur Municipal Corporation has resolved to disconnect drinking water taps and drainage connections for both residential and commercial properties whose owners have failed to settle longstanding dues - including property tax, vacant land tax, metered water charges and tap fees. The directive is part of a drive by GMC to achieve full tax realisation. Advertisement
Under the new policy, all senior officials - including deputy commissioners - have been made accountable for revenue generation. The municipal commissioner criticised several ward secretariats for recording 'zero percent' daily tax-collection performance, even though the financial year has already entered its second half.
In response to the shortfall, the GMC has asked the additional commissioner to issue show-cause notices to administrative secretaries in wards that failed to meet even a single day's collection target. Officials have been told that failure to show improvement by the next review meeting will result in suspension.
The civic body has laid out a strict recovery roadmap: defaulters will receive final demand notices, followed by swift disconnection of water taps and drainage lines for non-responders. For high-value delinquent accounts, authorities will issue red notices, and may, if dues remain unpaid, initiate attachment and auction of the defaulters' properties. Field visits by deputy commissioners to meet major defaulters have also been mandated to ensure compliance.
This is not the first time GMC has invoked withdrawal of water supply for defaulters. In the past, it disconnected water connections of commercial establishments - including hotels and apartments - that had not paid water-user charges. Even back then, reconnection carried hefty penalties, and the civic body warned that it would not wait beyond the notice period if dues remained unsettled.
The move appears to be GMC's response to shrinking revenue from water-user charges. Previously, the collections stood at a dismal fraction of the target - compelling the corporation to adopt stricter measures.
In effect, GMC aims to ensure that long-pending taxes - which compromise essential civic services - are cleared, sending a clear signal that continuing negligence will no longer be tolerated.
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