CHENNAI: A major financial shock stalks the citizens of Chennai and suburbs as the city corporation and the suburban municipalities are reportedly contemplating upward revision of property taxes and also stepping up tax collection drive. Reason: more than half of the civic bodies have gone bankrupt spending on rain-relief works last year and the cosmetic civic repairs before the Assembly polls.
With the civic polls round the corner, the councillors have been pressing the executives and engineers in the local bodies, including the Chennai corporation, to carry out critical repairs of roads, streetlights and drains, but the latter plead helplessness pointing to paucity of funds. “With the our finances in deep red, our officers are discussing revision of property taxes and are planning to intensify collections”, a municipal official said on condition of anonymity. Property tax collectors in Pallavaram and Pammal are even collecting tax in advance from the upper middle class homes.
The situation is getting dismal as contractors are even abandoning the allotted public works since the civic bodies are unable to settle their bills. “Work on a Rs 45 lakh marriage hall in Madurantakam was abandoned by its contractor last week because his bills are pending from February”, an official source revealed. It appears that these civic bodies are helpless since the grants-in-aid released quarterly by the state government to the municipalities have been pending for the last six months. The arrears on this account is about Rs 6.40 crore, another source said.
The corporation did a god job ahead of polls as it relaid several main roads, but interior roads are now in a bad state and need immediate repair, said advocate R. Govindaraj of Exnora International. “In fact, we the residents of Kodambakkam petitioned the local councillors seeking new roads, but the elected representatives are asking for more time explaining there is shortage of funds”, he said. In Tambaram, the municipality is in the red by about Rs 6 crore after spending on the repairs after the December floods. “Now that the Assembly election is over, the model code of conduct has been lifted; so the government will soon release its funds. The situation will hopefully get better”, said a secretariat official.
