Share of compact houses much higher in the rest of the State than Chennai

The possibility of undervaluation is cited as a factor

Authorities looking after the finances of urban local bodies (ULB) are puzzled over the difference between the proportion of houses in Chennai, having an area of less than or up to 600 sq. ft., and those in the rest of the State with the same stipulation.

The share of such houses in Chennai is around 26% of the total number of houses in the city whereas, in the remaining parts of the State, it is 65.85%.

Such a wide variation has pushed the authorities to analyse reasons behind it. The possibility of under-reporting of and undervaluation of properties could not be completely ruled out, said an official, adding that this required further study.

Asked why the State government chose to issue an advisory to municipal corporations and a direction to the remaining urban local bodies even though elected councils were in place, the official replied that this had been done keeping in mind the necessity to have “uniformity” across the ULBs and the 15th Finance Commission’s stipulation on floor rates. Besides, the annual value of a property had always been calculated on the basis of the area of the property, as specified in the documents with the Registration Department.

The official added that other than about 77.87 lakh residential properties in the State, there were around 10 lakh non-residential properties such as commercial complexes, hotels, hospitals, educational institutions and hostels. The break-up of the non-residential properties is: Chennai Corporation - 1.8 lakh, other municipal corporations and municipalities - 5.5 lakh and town panchayats - 2.6 lakh.