Property Tax To Double Under CURE Bill
Hyderabad: Due to a change in the method of property tax assessment, property tax is likely to be doubled in all three municipal corporations within the Outer Ring Road under the proposed Core Urban District (Integrated Governance) Bill, 2026 (CURE Bill).
According to the draft bill submitted for public comment, property tax will be assessed based on the capital value determined by the market value used by the government for registration, instead of the current annual rental value.
Since the current rental value was fixed in 2000, property taxes remained frozen for more than two decades. When property taxes are assessed based on capital value, the tax burden on property owners will increase significantly.
However, the draft law offers comfort to property owners as the tax increase will be applied gradually for existing structures. Property tax for new buildings will be determined according to the new capital value method and the increase will be made immediately.
The capital value module for property tax assessment is already implemented in some civic bodies that have been merged with the erstwhile GHMC.
Currently, the property tax on a residential property is determined by the formula: Gross annual rental value (GARV) x Trim Rate minus – 10% depreciation + 8% library deduction.
The CURE Bill will replace the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act, 1955, a law enacted for Hyderabad, which has a population of 15 lakh. Now, as the area of Hyderabad metropolitan area has expanded manifold with a population of 1.3 million, the government believes that the enabling law needs to be redesigned.
The draft law also prohibits unauthorized transportation or dumping of construction and demolition waste. “No person or organization shall transport construction and demolition waste within the CURE zone without the necessary permit or without violating the routes, timings or conditions established by an officer of a company within the CURE or such other authority as the government may determine in this regard,” the draft bill reads. The statement was included.
The bill envisages GIS-based street development plans, universal design and underground facilities to promote Ease of Doing Business and Infrastructure. It will also introduce default consent for premises, including a new night-time economy framework, decriminalize graduated civil penalties and simplify trading licenses for all businesses.
The draft bill will align sanitation with the Manual Scavengers Act to ensure that manual scavenging is not done in the city at any cost.
People will receive a single consolidated utility bill for all services.
In terms of administrative structure, the draft law proposes the creation of the CURE Apex Governance Council and an executive committee, to be chaired by the Prime Minister.
Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) will be the central agency for protection of lakes, drains, public lands and disaster management. Water and sanitation functions will continue to be vested in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board.
The draft bill envisages special authorities for traffic management, climate action, heritage protection, food safety, gender inclusion and workforce welfare.
The CURE SMART Governance Center will be established for real-time, multi-agency monitoring and emergency coordination. The CURE zone will have an integrated digital portal and Appellate Authority for speedy grievance redressal.
