Prayagraj: House owners can heave a sigh of relief as authorities of Prayagraj Municipal Corporation (PMC) have deferred the collection of hiked monthly house tax rent in view of increasing Covid-19 cases. Senior corporator and PCC member, Mukund Tiwari toldTOI that, “The PMC authorities had earlier mooted a proposal to hike 75 percent in the monthly house tax rent . But,when Working Committee of municipal corporation raised eyebrows over the proposal, it was later decided that there should be maximum 35 percent hike in monthly house tax rent”. However, traders, owners of houses and commercial buildings, coporators and leaders of opposition parties started raising voice over the proposed hike in monthly house tax rent plan and appealed to consider the poor economic activities and rise in the cases of Covid-19 in city. Tiwari said that municipal corporations of Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Bareilly and Moradabad have already deferred the hike in monthly house tax rent and after seeing these municipal corporations’ move, the PMC authorities have too decided to adjourn the plan to collect hiked monthly house tax rent. Tiwari, meanwhile, informed that city Mayor Abhilasha Gupta ‘Nandi’ has taken the decision to deferred the hike in monthly house tax rent plan during a meeting held at municipal corporation premises after seeing the rise in Covid-19 cases in Sangam City. tnn