GMC under fire for failing basic civic responsibilities despite soaring property tax collection
The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) is ramping up efforts to collect property taxes from citizens, but as taxpayers look around at the crumbling civic infrastructure, a pressing question arises: where is their money going?
Mayor Mrigen Sarania recently issued a stern reminder to Guwahati’s property owners — pay up or face penalties. According to the latest figures, GMC has managed to collect approximately ₹82 crore in property tax from 1.1 lakh holdings for the 2024–25 financial year. That’s a substantial figure. However, it still falls short of the ₹130 crore target, with around 50,000 households yet to pay.
To close the gap, the civic body is offering a 10% rebate for April payments and 5% for May, while simultaneously hiking the penalty for late payment from 10% to 20%. The urgency is unmistakable. And so is the discontent.
Because while the GMC is out with collection drives, SMS reminders, and flashy digital payment options, residents of the city are grappling with overflowing drains, waterlogged streets, erratic garbage collection, and failing infrastructure. For many, it feels like a transaction gone wrong: they’re paying — but receiving little in return.
GMC’s property tax isn’t just a levy — it’s a bundle. The tax includes a general levy based on the rateable value of the property, as well as components for water supply, street lighting, garbage collection (scavenging tax), and drainage maintenance. In theory, this tax is a vital lifeline for municipal operations. In practice, however, the delivery of these basic services is inconsistent, at best, and absent in many areas.
The irony isn’t lost on the residents.
A former GMC councillor, now a member of the BJP’s state executive committee, speaking on condition of anonymity, summed it up bluntly: “GMC is supposed to supply water, maintain drainage, collect garbage, ensure clean streets and working streetlights — but they are supplying water to only 30% of the city. How then do they justify taxing 100% of households?”
It's a question many are now daring to ask publicly. The situation becomes even more baffling when one considers that residents are being taxed for services that GMC has either outsourced or has stopped providing altogether.
Renowned social worker and Padmashree awardee Ajoy Kumar Dutta is among those voicing concern. A former legislator himself, Dutta expressed dismay at the rising property tax: “Earlier I paid ₹6,000; now it's ₹8,000 — but for what? GMC says it won’t supply water anymore even though they’re still charging a water tax.” He also slammed the Corporation for its failure to implement a sewerage system. “There is no proper drainage, garbage collection is poor, and the civic body is not fulfilling its most basic responsibilities. The Mayor should not think he is God. He was elected by the taxpayers. Where is the introspection?”
In many wards across Guwahati, scenes of civic failure are easy to spot. In areas like Sarvoday Nagar in Ward 54, residents say that roads remain submerged in drainwater for nearly six months every year. With clogged or non-functional drains, even moderate rainfall turns streets into cesspools. Mosquitoes thrive, and so does public frustration.
Garbage piles up in various parts of the city — not just in the peripheries, but even in commercial hubs like Fancy Bazaar and Paltan Bazaar. While GMC claims to be overhauling its waste management system, many of the past experiments — involving NGOs, ward committees, and private agencies — have failed. Residents routinely complain about irregular or skipped pickups, with trash languishing for days.
Street lighting, another tax-funded amenity, is also patchy. Despite initiatives like LED conversions in some areas, large stretches of the city remain in darkness — particularly inner lanes and newly developed residential areas. To make matters more confusing, initiatives like "Project Jyoti" — aimed at streetlight expansion — are being carried out by the Guwahati Smart City Limited (GSCL), not the GMC. Yet residents are taxed by GMC for lighting, raising serious questions about duplication and accountability.
To boost collections, the GMC is undertaking a ₹2.7 crore door-to-door Geographic Information System (GIS) survey as part of its Smart House Numbering System (SHNS). The goal is to assign a QR code to every property and build a comprehensive digital tax database. This will, in theory, allow GMC to track taxpayers and include tenants in the tax net.
This initiative is not without merit — a streamlined database could indeed help plug revenue leakages. But many argue that the focus on improving collections without first improving services is fundamentally unjust.
“They are spending crores to identify defaulters. But what about spending on cleaning drains or laying proper sewage lines?” asks Prashant Sharma, a resident of Zoo Road Tiniali. “We pay tax, and in return, we wade through knee-deep water every monsoon.”
Even the Deputy Mayor, Smita Roy, inadvertently highlighted the disconnect. Speaking to media, she claimed that only 30–40% of households are paying property tax — yet also insisted that GMC is “providing all possible services.” She narrated an incident near Guwahati Club, where a street was cleaned but garbage was dumped again within minutes, blaming public apathy for poor civic conditions. She added that drainage and road works fall under the Public Works Department (PWD), not GMC.
It’s a line of defense many residents find weak. “That’s bureaucratic buck-passing,” says Dutta. “Taxpayers don’t want excuses. They want results.”
Perhaps the most damning indictment of the GMC is its complete failure to develop a city-wide sewerage system. Guwahati, despite being one of the largest cities in the Northeast, continues to rely on outdated and inadequate open drain systems.
This failure isn’t just about inconvenience — it poses serious health hazards. Contaminated water, blocked drains, and open sewers contribute to vector-borne diseases, especially during the monsoons. Meanwhile, the scavenging tax continues to be collected — without delivering the sanitation it's meant to fund.
Add to this the lack of transparency in how tax funds are utilised. The GMC before collecting property tax should prioritise their duties and justify tax collection.