Residents of erstwhile local bodies in western, northern and southern parts of the city are facing various problems in paying their property tax. While some residents have not paid the tax for almost a year as their names or details are not found in the records of the civic body, others have reported mistakes in their details online and sometimes, even the absence of any record of their property online.
B. Jagan, a resident of Puthagaram, a former panchayat in Madhavaram zone, said that the staff members of bill collection centre had refused to collect tax. “ Officials said the panchayat authorities had not recorded information of all the residents. But, some newly-settled residents in my area were able to pay the tax,” he said.
Though the Corporation authorities had assured the residents that assessment will be conducted soon and they would be able to pay tax after that, nothing has been done so far. Thus, many of them have not been able to pay tax for the past one year.
In some areas including Thoraipakkam in Sholinganallur zone, Nerkundram and Ambattur, Corporation officials depend on receipts brought by the residents to determine property tax. K. Ganapathy of Krishnapuram, Ambattur, said that only 50 per cent of the residents have been provided with new assessment numbers.
People in areas such as Ram Nagar, Menambedu and Venkatapuram in Ambattur still do not have tax cards. “If someone does not produce a receipt provided by the now defunct municipality, he may not be able to remit tax. Residents were afraid that they might be asked to pay a lump sum as arrears after the property assessment exercise,” Mr. Ganapathy said.
For many residents of Sholinganallur zone however, the problem was that their property tax details were not found online. “When I tried paying the amount online, it said there was some error. I then had to go to the local Corporation office and pay the amount,” said a resident of Karapakkam.
Another resident said his address had been mentioned wrongly in the records.
Among the reasons given to residents for the need for a fresh assessment was the fact that their assessment details had not been passed on by the former panchayats to the Corporation. This is after two payments had been made to the civic body and manual receipts received.
Residents have been asked to provide details of their property, previous tax receipts and two photographs of the property.
Corporation officials said that former local bodies had not conducted proper assessments of properties; hence the civic body has to do so all over again. “It will be a one-time exercise,” the official said.
