Crackdown on 100 top tax defaulters

CHENNAI: Trichy corporation has embarked on an ambitious project to retrieve its Rs 42 crore tax dues, including that of property tax and user charge arrears from top defaulters. The Trichy corporation in a press release on Saturday said that there are top 100 defaulters and the corporation has already sent notices to them for immediate payment of the arrears and dues.

The release also said that the corporation has set a deadline of May 1 for the officials to collect taxes. The civic body is using lock and key method from commercial properties, as far as home defaulters are concerned, it is disconnecting the drinking water connections. Around 200 water connections are being disconnected on a daily basis.

The Trichy corporation in the release also said that the arrears in tax collection has led to acute fund crunch for the civic body and that this would lead to mounting salary and pension arrears.

Assistant commissioners of taxes, revenue officers and bill collectors have been pressed into service to collect maximum revenue dues. A door to door survey on the water dues, property tax and underground drainage user fee are being conducted to find out the total dues and then to execute the collection drive.

The corporation is getting arrears to the tune of Rs 1 crore to 2 crore a day and the officials are expecting that their target is met. Balasubramanian , Assistant Commissioner taxes, Trichy corporation said, "We have been given a target of Rs 42 crore before May 1 and I think that we are on course for that. We are taking extreme measures, including lock and key and disconnection of drinking water sources which is leading to an increase in collection of arrears."

The corporation is expecting to get a minimum of 90 per cent of the arrears collected before May 1 so that the corporation is back into activities. (IANS)

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