Chennai Corporation decentralises community hall bookings

From now, residents can book community halls for marriages and other functions at the respective zonal offices. Hitherto, bookings for community halls are made only at the Ripon Buildings.

"Residents, especially those who live in the extended zones, are facing difficulties while booking community halls. Due to this, bookings are lesser in the extended zones," a Chennai Corporation council resolution said.

The resolution added that residents could book community halls at the Revenue sections at the zonal offices.

In total, the Chennai Corporation maintains 62 community halls, of which 33 are in the Central region. North and south regions have 15 and 14 community halls respectively. Apart from these, the civic body maintains three auditoriums.

Chennai Corporation collects charges from the users on the basis of street rates of property tax and size of community halls. Charges fixed for some of the community halls are as low as less than Rs. 1,000. However, residents should pay 18 per cent GST for bookings.

Already, the civic body had introduced an online facility so that the residents can know the availability and vacancies. Residents should book the community halls within 6 months from the date of the functions.

During the 2018-2019 financial year, the Chennai Corporation earned around Rs 2 crore as rentals from community halls. However, the revenue from halls has decreased for the last two years owing to the pandemic