Opening up Hyderabad to revive revenues

Hyderabad: With the state revenues dropped to an all-time low during the lockdown period, the Telangana government is all set to come out with 'HYDERABAD - A Master Plan To Revive Revenues'.

A major exercise is on and by the end of May when the lockdown is expected to be lifted, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is likely to announce the plan to revitalize the revenue generation. This exercise is likely to take a shape at a high-level meeting to be held on May 15. This meeting will review the status of government's preparedness to tackle financial challenges in the coming months.

According to sources, re-opening of big malls, permitting small trade activity mainly retail shops like cloths, mobile shops and takeaway facility from restaurants and fast food centres in Hyderabad are being examined by the committee. The measures required to resume all business activity with adequate safety measures, like physical distancing, is getting ready, a senior official said.

Officials said that before the GHMC elections scheduled to be held in early 2021, the government wants to rebuild the brand Hyderabad image in the world market which had earned the tag of being the best investment destination.

Hyderabad has been considered the backbone of Telangana in generating major share of revenues of the state. The state capital plays a vital role in providing required funds to meet the expenses incurred in the implementation of welfare and developmental programmes. VAT collected from the sale of fuel revenues from liquor sales, land and property registrations and the taxes collected from the sale of automobiles contribute to about 60 to 65 percent of the total revenues in the state. The city of Greater Hyderabad alone generates Rs 450 to Rs 500 crore , out of Rs 600 crore per day in the state.

After the enforcement of the lockdown, state revenues dropped to about Rs 3 crore per day as all the trade activity in the state had come to a standstill. Resuming liquor sales and permitting land registrations and vehicle registrations gave some relief to the state this month.

Top officials said that a special official team headed by Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar is working on a plan to restore trade activity and ensure that revenue generation takes off at a faster pace in Hyderabad. Sector-wise revival activity will be the focus area of the plan.