Water Tax Collections Crawl at Snail’s Pace, Fail To Cross 20 per Cent Mark
The situation is particularly concerning in urban local bodies and agriculturally dominant districts, where collections have been low.
Kurnool: With the financial year nearing its end, water tax collections across the state continue to progress at a sluggish pace, triggering concern in official circles.
Revenue figures till January paint a grim picture with collections failing to cross even the 20 per cent mark.
Against a total target of Rs 787.14 crore fixed for the current financial year, only Rs 140.95 crore could be realised as of January 11, 2025. This forms a mere 17.91 per cent of the annual target.
With barely five weeks left for the fiscal year to end, officials are not optimistic about collecting even half of the targeted figure. Several districts have not been able to touch the 20 per cent mark.
The situation is particularly concerning in urban local bodies and agriculturally dominant districts, where collections have been low. Mounting arrears, delayed payments from farmers, and a lack of coordination at the field level are cited as major reasons for the poor performance.
In some municipalities, officials say the shortfall in water tax collection has affected their ability to clear electricity dues, further straining the civic finances. Officials from the revenue and irrigation departments admit that unless immediate corrective measures are taken, the revenue gap could widen.
Senior municipal officials suggest that intensive collection drives, through also strengthening the digital payment systems for consumers, identifying and recovering long-pending arrears, and conducting awareness campaigns among the consumers are essential to improve the collections. Without such interventions, they achieving even a 50 per cent target may prove difficult.
Kurnool municipal corporation commissioner Viswanath said collections have slightly improved of late, and 30 per cent has been collected. Currently, only 40 per cent of the taxes are being collected against the capital expenditure being incurred by the government for water supply.
Particulars of Collections
2025–25 Collection Target Rs 787.14 crore;
amount collected Rs 140.95 crore;
Percentage 17.91%
Top 3 districts (by percentage)
District target (₹ cr) Collections (₹ cr) %
YSR Kadapa 34.30; 10.14; 29.55%
NTR 75.07; 19.72; 26.27%
Annamayya 14.35; 2.98; 20.79%
Bottom 3 districts
District target (₹ cr) collections (₹ cr) %
Parvathipuram Manyam 5.56; 0.45; 8.18%
SPSR Nellore 73.46; 8.77; 11.93%
Guntur 96.48; 12.03; 12.47%
