Ex CM’s House Seized In Hyderabad: What’s Up?

Generally, the residences of the chief ministers and top cabinet ministers are held with highest levels in terms of security and general administration. But now we have the case of Tamil Nadu ex chief minister Jayalalitha’s House in Hyderabad, which faced a detrimental fate.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation sealed a G+4 residential property in Srinagar Colony, Yousufguda, registered in the name of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday after property tax arrears went unresolved for nearly eight years.

Tax on the property has been in default since 2017, with total outstanding dues including arrears and penal interest standing at approximately Rs 1.6 crore. Under GHMC’s One Time Settlement scheme, a 90 per cent waiver on interest brought the payable amount down to Rs 82.91 lakh.

The property, bearing house number 8-3-1099/A, had previously been assessed under the commercial tax category after being used as a private office, resulting in a higher tax liability. Jayalalithaa reportedly acquired the building in 1967 for Rs 50,000, and its market value was assessed at Rs 5 crore in 2015.

The property had at one point been leased to businessman Vijay Mallya, and officials believe tax arrears began accumulating during that period. Jayalalithaa’s nephew Deepak Jayakumar had requested reclassification of the property from commercial to residential, arguing it had been used for residential purposes since 2017, but the dues remained unpaid and no compliance with notices was recorded. 

The property was unsealed on Tuesday after the legal heirs initiated the payment process. The action is part of a broader GHMC citywide crackdown ahead of the March 31 OTS deadline, with property tax arrears across GHMC limits having crossed Rs 1,400 crore across nearly 3.5 lakh properties.