The Hindu : Front Page : No compulsion to hike property tax: Karunanidhi

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No compulsion to hike property tax: Karunanidhi

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: There is no compulsion on urban local bodies to hike property tax, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi said on Saturday.

“Elected urban local bodies can adopt resolutions on property tax, depending upon their requirements. If there is no need, they can retain the existing property tax,” Mr Karunanidhi said, in a statement, responding to All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Jayalalithaa’s demand for the withdrawal of the move to revise the tax.

Pointing out that the local bodies needed funds to carry out development projects in their areas, the Chief Minister said they could not look to the Government for everything.

It should not be forgotten that there had been a demand for adequate financial help to the local bodies.

At the same time, opposition to their plans of augmenting their resources would only create a situation wherein local bodies would not be able to perform any constructive activity, he said.

After a gap of 10 years, a decision to streamline the tax was taken and guidelines had been issued. Accordingly, the ceiling on the enhancement of tax was fixed at 25 per cent for residential buildings; 100 per cent for industrial buildings and 150 per cent for commercial buildings.

Under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, 177 projects, estimated to cost Rs. 5,460 crore, had been sanctioned and they were being taken up for execution.

Infrastructure

Under the programme for the provision of infrastructure in town panchayats, developmental works costing Rs. 70 crore were being executed in 140 town panchayats. Underground drainage schemes costing Rs. 1,362 crore were under way in all the district headquarters.

The Rs. 1,000-crore Tamil Nadu Urban Roads Development Project, envisaging the improvement of roads in municipal corporations and municipalities and provision of pavements and stormwater drains, had been proposed. Property tax revision was meant to help implementation of these projects.

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