The Chennai Corporation has decided to withdraw licences for commercial buildings that are found to have directly connected their drainage network to stormwater drains and waterways.
The civic body will soon commence a survey of all properties in the city, using the services of private agencies. “The private agency will verify every building and identify those that contribute to the pollution of waterways,” said a senior Corporation official.
The survey will also throw light on the gaps in property tax collection and the trade licence framework for the expanded city.
“The number of workers in the Corporation is inadequate for identifying all the illegal sewer connections. There are more than a million property tax assessees in the city. So we will screen all the buildings in the city with the help of private agencies,” said the official.
Earlier, 1,300 properties were identified by the civic body as having illegal sewer connections and over half of them received legal connections from Chennai Metrowater. In the second phase conducted recently, the civic body identified 3,000 more buildings with illegal connections. A number of them are commercial buildings.
“We will advise the property tax assessees of such buildings to get a sewer connection from Chennai Metrowater by a stipulated date. If they refuse to oblige, we will close down the buildings,” said the official.
Works to the tune of Rs. 100 crore are likely to be taken up shortly to combat the pollution of waterways, the official added.
