Chennai, July 16 (IANS). Providing relief to property owners in the city, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has extended the period of the special property tax collection drive till July 31. This decision was taken because almost half of the property owners in the city have not yet deposited their property tax during the current assessment period.
According to corporation officials, a total of 14.23 lakh properties have been assessed in Chennai. Of these, only 6.98 lakh property owners have deposited their property tax so far, while 7.25 lakh property owners have not paid the tax yet. For this reason, the Municipal Corporation has decided to intensify the tax collection campaign for the next two weeks.
The special tax collection camps started from July 3 and were initially scheduled to run till July 17. But in view of the large number of tax outstanding and the need to increase revenue collection, it has now been decided to continue these camps till July 31.
Officials said that this special campaign will be run through tax collection camps set up in all the 15 zones of Chennai. Along with this, instructions have also been given to the corporation employees to increase awareness among the people and motivate them to deposit the tax before the deadline, so that additional interest charged on delay can be avoided.
Property tax is one of the most important sources of income for the Greater Chennai Corporation, generating revenue of about Rs 1,800 crore every year. This amount provides financial support to various public services and infrastructure development works in the city.
According to the corporation, property tax worth around Rs 96 crore has been collected through special tax collection camps between July 3 and July 15. The amount received from property tax is used in solid waste management, maintenance of roads, street lights, storm water drainage, maintenance of parks and improving other civic amenities. Officials said that timely deposit of tax is very important to continue the essential services of the city without any hindrance.
The corporation said that citizens can also deposit property tax through the official online portal of Greater Chennai Corporation or by visiting any of the special tax collection camps set up in the city.
The Corporation has appealed to all delinquent property owners to deposit their property tax before July 31, to avoid additional financial penalty and interest on late payment.
–IANS
VKU/VC