8,000 property tax defaulters owe Chennai civic body crores

Some 8,000 defaulters owe the Greater Chennai Corporation Rs300 crore in property tax dues, but the civic body refuses to name them. The total property tax dues amount to Rs1,050crore and civic officials rue that the law is not much help. Senior officers say that under the provisions of the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1919, they can, of course, issue a default distraint warrant and seize the property of a defaulter. But this is a measure of last resort and a long-drawn process. There are no provisions to arrest defaulters or to termporarily seal a premises for non-payment of property tax. Two weeks ago, the civic body’s revenue department had placed a dumpster outside the Greams Road head office of a big corporate house for non-payment of property tax dues of Rs35 lakh but removed it within a day after the private party sought a week’s time to make the payment. Two weeks later, the civic body has yet to initiate any action though the corporate house is yet to pay up.