The Chennai Corporation has resumed the old town crier approach to collect property tax dues from the public. Those who don’t pay up property tax will face action.
Commercial localities
Town criers have started showing up in commercial localities, announcing that assessees have defaulted on their dues. Zones with a large number of commercial establishments have started making arrangements to employ town criers to make assessees aware of their civic obligations.
The civic body has collected less than Rs. 400 crore as property tax from across the 15 zones of the city for this financial year, said an official.
Property owners in commercial areas such as Anna Nagar, T. Nagar, Adyar and Teynampet have been delaying the payment of property tax every half year. The property tax for this half year period of October 2016 to March 2017 has to be paid before October 15. But most of the commercial establishments have not paid property tax.
Officials have been asked to improve tax collection ahead of the rains this monsoon.
Target of Rs. 650 crore
The Corporation hopes to achieve a target of Rs. 650 crore by the end of 2016-2017. The Corporation stopped using town criers in 2013 owing to a lack of adequate manpower in the Corporation’s revenue department. The number of tax collectors in the city has reduced to less than 230.
The civic body has collected less than Rs. 400 crore as property tax from across the 15 zones
