The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : A one-stop point to redress grievances

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Sunday, May 18, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

A one-stop point to redress grievances

Staff Reporter

— Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam

FACE TO FACE: Mayor M. Subramanian interacts with narikuravars from Gypsy Colony in Kottur at the Chennai Corporation grievances redressal meeting on Saturday.

Chennai: The launch of the Chennai Corporation’s grievances redress programme on Saturday brought with it a useful consequence: revenue from trade licence fees and property tax collection.

The programme ‘Makkalai Thedi Managaratchi’ (the Corporation comes to the people) was inaugurated at Guindy. People could pay any dues to the Corporation at the special counters set up at the venue. By the end of the day, the civic body collected Rs. 92,000 in trade licence fees and Rs. 3.25 lakh in property tax dues.

Families living on government land and poromboke land (except along waterways) also used the occasion to submit petitions for property tax assessment. Hundreds of members of the ‘narikorava’ community living in Gypsy Colony in Saidapet zone participated in the programme to get their living space assessed. They were required to give an affidavit that they did not have a claim to the land. Notary Public officials processed the affidavits.

Mayor M. Subramanian said the narikoravas who were covered in the property tax assessment would be eligible for alternative accommodation in case they were evicted from the land. Most of them already have ration cards.

Property tax

“About 50 per cent of the manufacturers in Guindy Industrial Estate are yet to pay their property taxes. Those who have claimed that there are mistakes in the property tax reassessment will have the opportunity of getting assessors to check their property today,” the Mayor said. After the evaluation by assessors, the property owners could pay their taxes at the special counters.

Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said the people who brought their petitions to the grievance redress programme would be given token numbers and their complaints would be entered into a computer database. Complaints such as garbage/debris removal, patchwork on roads, issue of birth or death certificates, fogging operations and repair of streetlights would be attended to the same day, he said.

Officials from government agencies including the Metrowater, the Revenue Department, the Police, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board were present at the programme. The officials would take up one unit of the Chennai Corporation to conduct the programme every Saturday (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) Chennai is divided into 30 such units.

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