Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation collected Rs 305 crore in property tax in 2025-26, falling Rs 35 crore short of the previous year’s tally, as a row over a rate hike left more than one lakh residents confused about what they owed.A revised tax structure was introduced on April 1 last year to align the property tax rates with the district magistrate’s circle rate. Following the revision, the maximum property tax increased to Rs 4 per square foot, against Rs 2.4 per square foot previously. The minimum fell marginally to Rs 1.3 per sqft from Rs 1.6.The corporation has around five lakh registered consumers. Officials say over one lakh have not paid, largely because the mayor and municipal administration have publicly contradicted each other on whether the hiked rate applies. While mayor Sunita Dayal last month urged residents not to pay at the revised rate, municipal commissioner Vikramaditya Singh Malik maintained the hike stands. Both separately approached state govt officials in recent weeks in an effort to have their position prevail.Ghaziabad Sadar MLA Sanjeev Sharma said the matter had reached the CMO. “A middle path is being worked out and a clear direction from the state govt is expected within a fortnight,” he said.In the interim, the corporation’s online payment portal will remain non-functional until April 15, as it undergoes its annual post-financial-year update. But GMC officials said they hoped to recover Rs 100 crore from defaulters once the portal was restored, with a 12% penalty to be imposed on unpaid dues calculated at the board-approved hiked rate.Of the Rs 305 crore collected across five zones this fiscal year, Vasundhara led with Rs 133 crore. Mohan Nagar and Kavinagar zones contributed Rs 52 crore each, city zone added Rs 40 crore, and Vijay Nagar brought in Rs 16 crore. Indirapuram, which was a part of Vasundhara zone before GDA handover and now is now a separate zone, accounted for the remaining Rs 10.4 crore.
