Residents who use the community halls of Chennai Corporation for social gatherings can soon save more money.
The Corporation has decided to procure utensils for all its 52 community halls and make the halls available free of cost.
The civic body will also regulate the charges collected by contractors for catering and decorations at the halls.
Currently, residents of some areas are forced to fork out large sums of money for the exorbitant charges, despite having booked the halls for an affordable amount.
The Mayor, last year, announced that residents would be able to use the Corporation’s community halls free of cost. The civic body’s plan to waive the rental charges will soon be implemented.
The move is expected to help a large number of residents of middle and lower-income groups who depend on the facilities for holding functions ranging from wedding ceremonies to birthday celebrations. The existing rates for the halls vary between Rs. 350 and Rs. 15,000 per day, depending on their location.
The community halls are located in areas such as CIT Nagar, Velachery, Anna Nagar, T. Nagar, Royapettah, Guindy and Kotturpuram.
Some of the halls already have modern amenities including kitchens and adequate parking space.
The Corporation revamped the facility for booking the halls, following large-scale irregularities in their allotment, last year.
Now, residents have to directly approach the revenue department to avail of the services.
