Improve tax collections and become self-sufficient, MA&UD Minister Narayana tells Municipal Commissioners

Improve tax collections and become self-sufficient, MA&UD Minister Narayana tells Municipal Commissioners. With their delinking from CFMS, the Urban Local Bodies can retain and utilise the taxes collected for their own development, and give an impetus to providing quality essential services to the people, he says. The government has set a target of sterilising all dogs within 200 days, he adds.

There is a need for improving the tax collection mechanism, without troubling the poor, so that municipalities can become self-sufficient and have the funds required to meet the needs of the public, Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) P. Narayana has said.

Speaking after inaugurating a one-day workshop for the Municipal Commissioners, at the School of Planning and Architecture in Vijayawada on April 10 (Thursday), Mr. Narayana said, instead of constructing unnecessary buildings, the Municipal Commissioners should focus on utilising the tax revenue for providing and improving basic amenities to the people.

To empower the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), the Minister said they were delinked from the Comprehensive Financial Management System (CFMS). “This allows the ULBs to retain and utilise the taxes collected for their own development and gives an impetus to providing quality essential services to the people,” he observed.

Terming as unfortunate the incident where a stray dog mauled a four-year-old to death in Guntur, the Minister said such instances should not repeat. “We have set a target of sterilising all dogs within 200 days,” he said.

Later, MA&UD Principal Secretary S. Suresh Kumar underlined the urgent need for improved service delivery, and urged the Municipal Commissioners to work collaboratively towards building a more responsive, accountable, and citizen-centric urban governance system.

Highlighting the strides made in revenue mobilisation, he noted that for the financial year 2024–25, the State recorded a total property tax collection of ₹2,213.61 crore, representing 49.46% of the total demand. “This marks 30% increase in the collection compared to the previous financial year,” he said.

Mr. Suresh Kumar added that while only four out of 123 ULBs qualified in the previous year for the 15th Finance Commission grant, this year, 106 ULBs met the required performance norms and were now eligible for the grants.