If things go as planned, the Coimbatore Corporation may ask households in the city to compulsorily go in for solar water heaters.
The civic body was asked to do so at a meeting the Union Government's Ministry of Urban Development conducted in association with the State Government in Chennai recently.
According to sources, the Corporation, like other urban local bodies (Municipal Corporations and Municipalities) had been asked to make it mandatory for residents in its jurisdictions to install solar water heaters. But this comes with a caveat – that this is applicable only for those households with over 1,500 sq.ft.
Owners of houses over 1,500 sq.ft. would be encouraged to install solar water heaters, for which the Central Government would offer subsidy.
A list of approved buyers was also available for the residents to choose from.
The sources said that on its part, the Corporation, as suggested by the governments, could provide a small percentage as concession in property tax to those who had installed the system.
As for houses or apartments under construction, the Corporation would make it mandatory that they went in to solar water heaters.
It could enforce the same by linking the drinking water connection with the installation of the system, again as suggested by the governments, the sources added.
The Coimbatore Corporation as on date had 3.89 lakh property tax assessments and collected Rs. 102 crore.
The sources also said that if the civic body were to make this mandatory and also offer the property tax concession, it had to take the approval of Mayor S.M. Velusamy and the Council. The same would also hold good for the proposal asking buildings under constructions to install solar water heaters.
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