GCC proposes 20% rebate for one- time settlement by assessees who have more than five years of property tax arrears

The Greater Chennai Corporation on Tuesday passed its Budget for 2023-24 that focuses on spending for flood mitigation, relaying of roads and solid waste management, and on increasing its own sources of revenue. It will launch more infrastructure projects through public-private partnership

The Greater Chennai Corporation on Tuesday passed its Budget for 2023-24 that focuses on spending for flood mitigation, relaying of roads and solid waste management, and on increasing its own sources of revenue. It will launch more infrastructure projects through public-private partnership.

The Council also passed a resolution to give a rebate of 20% in property tax for settlement of more than five years of tax arrears. The State government will take the final decision. According to the data from the civic body, 2.63 lakh bills, worth ₹594 crore, have not been paid by assessees.

As many as 44,436 bills, with a total value of ₹245 crore, have not been paid for over 10 years. Over 48,481 bills, worth ₹58 crore, have been pending for more than eight years.

During 2022-23, the civic body is expected to collect ₹1,500 crore in property tax. “We have collected ₹1,440 crore so far this year,” said an official.

A mortuary will be developed at the Velangadu crematorium. Mayor R. Priya has said the scheme will be implemented through public-private partnership. The concessionaire will arrange for the bodies to be transported from hospital or houses to the private mortuary, where they will be stored until relatives arrive from foreign countries, and taken back to the homes or transported to the burial ground for the last rites.

The civic body will also survey its land parcels. A total of 440 land parcels, with an area of over 100 cents each, will be surveyed for identifying encroachments. As many as 6,000 land parcels will be surveyed. A total of 3,330 land parcels are less than 10 cents each, and some of them are under encroachment.

The Council passed a resolution to rename the Mandavelipakkam West Circular Road in ward 126 of the Teynampet zone after playback singer T.M. Soundararajan. It also passed a resolution to rename a part of Avvai Shanmugham Salai after former Tamil Nadu Advocate-General V.P. Raman.