In the areas under the Chennai Corporation, the suddenly revised property tax had left lakhs of ordinary middle-class people seething. They had also leveled sharp criticism at the government.
The DMK also took up the issue and began fighting on the ground. Chennai Corporation officials, who quickly came to their senses, have temporarily put the property tax reassessment on hold. Those in the know whisper that the cold war between the Chennai Corporation and the Chief Minister’s Office is the reason behind the property tax issue, which suddenly struck people like a bolt from the blue.
Some people familiar with internal affairs who spoke to us about this said, “Ever since the election results were announced and the TVK government was formed, there has been no coordination at all between the government and the Chennai Corporation. Usually, even if an opposition party comes to power, the Mayor of Chennai will meet the Chief Minister and offer congratulations. That tradition existed even during the Jayalalithaa-Stalin era. But Mayor Priya has not met Chief Minister Vijay even to this day. The Chief Minister’s Office did not even invite the Mayor to his swearing-in ceremony. Since then, an ego war has begun between the two sides. It is the people who are being affected by that ego war.”
This government imposed strict restrictions on limited tenders. As a result, even the work of fixing small potholes at the ward level could not be carried out. Bills could not be cleared for those who had already completed the work. There are many irregularities in limited tenders. The government says it has brought in new procedures because councilors and party workers alike are taking commissions. The Chennai Corporation has a total of 200 councilors. Most of them belong to the DMK.
Councilors are to be given 60 lakh rupees each every year as ward development funds. Even this time, the constituency development fund has not yet been provided. It was on this basis that DMK councilors strongly argued at the council meeting held last July. “This government is afraid that if the councilors’ funds are released, DMK will earn a good name by carrying out projects for the people. By not giving the funds, the government is trying to paralyze us, prevent us from doing public work during the rainy season, and pin false blame on us,” DMK councilors, along with the mayor and deputy mayor, charged in a barrage of accusations.
In response, Commissioner Sameeran said, “The corporation is in a severe financial crisis. It is running with a revenue deficit of Rs. 1,927 crore. We can think about councillor funds after another two or three months,” politely saying that the funds could not be released. Immediately, Deputy Mayor Mahesh Kumar countered, “Talk to the Chief Minister and the Municipal Administration Department and ask them to provide a special fund for the corporation.” In a way, the meeting itself ended up being quite heated. Within just fifteen days of this debate, the corporation has dropped a bombshell on the public by announcing a property tax revaluation.
A person who had been paying property tax of 500 rupees has now been reassessed at 7,500 rupees. This is a blind increase in property tax. It is said that Commissioner Samiran approached the Municipal Administration Department, which is under the Chief Minister’s control, with a financial request, and that a powerful official from the Chief Minister’s Office was the one who gave the idea of reassessing property tax. Since that official had previously served as the Chennai Corporation Commissioner, he believes that DMK and AIADMK councillors, along with officials, had made arrangements and siphoned off a lot through property tax. That is why, when the corporation asked for funds, he gave the idea of property tax reassessment. Through this, tax revenue will also increase significantly, complaints can be piled up against the DMK, and the Chief Minister’s attention can be drawn—he seems to have thought of killing two birds with one stone. But the DMK has immediately taken up this matter, which officials discussed and decided upon, and has started attacking it.
“The officials made the decision without consulting us,” Mayor Priya began, and former minister Ma. Su followed, saying that property tax had been increased by 300% and that people were suffering. TVK has won most of the constituencies in Chennai. As soon as the property tax was drawn up in a haphazard manner, TVK MLAs began knocking on the doors of administrators’ homes. TVK members have started swarming around the leadership. Harsh criticism has also begun to appear on social media. Only after realizing that the officials’ overconfident act, done in the hope of earning favor with the Chief Minister, was turning into a boomerang for the ruling party itself, did the Chief Minister’s Office hurriedly backtrack. The property tax revaluation has also been temporarily canceled,” they laid out all the background details in full.
'Should the public have to bear the headache caused by the ego clash between the municipal corporation and the government, and the arrogance of officials?' is the question raised by social activists.