Ghaziabad: Allahabad High Court has refused to interfere with a decision by Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) to hike property tax. The verdict came as a blow to residents who saw their bills push up three to four times by the tax revision.On Wednesday, a division bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra dismissed a petition filed by three former GMC councillors, holding that the corporation’s method of fixing the minimum monthly rent rates (MMRR) and revising property tax on that basis was legally sound.“We neither find any error in determination of ‘MMRR’ nor any illegality in the impugned decision to revise/enhance the property taxes based upon ‘MMRR’,” the court said. It added that the exercise was “fully in consonance with the statutory provisions” and required no intervention. “The petition has no substance and the same is, therefore, dismissed,” the order said.The dispute dates to April 1 last year, when GMC rolled out a new property tax slab aligned with district magistrate circle rates. Under the revised structure, rates rose from about Rs 0.7 to Rs 4 per sq ft, with residents alleging that the change translated into roughly Rs 5,000 more in annual tax for many households. The slab varied by road width. Properties along roads under 12 metres were taxed from Rs 0.3 to Rs 1.6 per sq ft, those on 12-24 metre roads from Rs 0.5 to Rs 2 per sqft. and properties on wider roads from Rs 0.65 to Rs 2.4 per sqft.This led to protests by RWAs and other stakeholders, prompting the GMC board to repeal the hike. The corporation, however, continued issuing notices to defaulters using the revised slab, keeping the controversy alive. In May last year, the former councillors moved the high court, arguing that municipal rules allow a property tax hike only once every two years. They pointed out that in 2023-24, the tax had already gone up by 10%, and in 2024-25 it was increased again.A GMC official said the ruling settled the issue around the new structure. “GMC calculates property taxes on the annual rental value (ARV). At present, the civic body’s consumers are over 6 lakh. With increased taxes, the corporation will generate additional revenue of over Rs 60 crore,” the official said.Co-petitioner and former councillor Rajendra Tyagi said, “While the court’s decision went in favour of GMC, we are mulling other legal options.”Mayor Sunita Dayal said the public anger was understandable and pointed to temporary relief measures she adopted. “The opposition by residents was very much understandable. So, I kept extending the rebate on property taxes for four months in a row. Now, after the court’s decision, the matter stands closed,” she added.
