Follow your promise: Ramadoss reminds Stalin of property tax policy

CHENNAI: PMK supremo Ramadoss has demanded the DMK government to roll back its property tax hike enforced this year.

The veteran leader took to his social media handle enumerating reasons for demanding the rollback. He expressed his views following the legislation passed in the State Assembly to hike property tax in Tamil Nadu annually.

Ramadoss said, this policy not just affects house owners but also the tenants. "When Chennai people are already hardpressed to pay the current rate which is a 200% jump, it is not right to burden them any further," he added.

The PMK leader said that Stalin had protested the property tax increase back in 2017-18 and how can he justify the current revision when the earlier problems continue to exist. Reminding the Chief Minister of his party's poll promise Ramadoss said, "DMK's 487th poll promise was not to increase the property tax until people recover from the pandemic-induced economic hardship...How can the government that denies people's rights citing the insufficient revenue now increase the tax?"

A Bill was tabled in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday by the Minister of Municipal Administration KN Nehru requiring municipal councils to increase the property tax annually.

Another change introduced through the Bill is that the Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner in consultation of the MD of Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board will identify the places for decanting the faecal sludge or septage my means of a specified vehicle and also specify the routes for the movement of such vehicles to transport the faecal sludge for decanting in the identified places.