Chennai:
MK Stalin, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, declared on April 6 that the DMK-led state government was under pressure to alter the current property tax in order to ensure that revenues flow to newly elected local organisations for development purposes. Stalin also urged political parties not to politicise the issue.
Rejecting a plea in the Assembly from a number of political parties, including his own allies, to either reverse or reduce the recently announced property tax revision, the Chief Minister stated that the property tax revision was not deliberate, but that it was necessary to financially empower civic bodies.
“I would want to say that the government does not enjoy revising property taxes, but is compelled to do so in order to provide funding to cash-strapped local governments,” Stalin remarked in response to a question posed in the Assembly House.
“Nearly 83 percent of the households in urban Tamil Nadu will not be affected by the current amendment,” he claimed, justifying the government’s decision.
The Chief Minister explained the increase by claiming that local governments were short on finances due to the lack of elections. The cash-strapped civic bodies lacked the resources to address the people’s most basic needs.
However, the situation has radically changed as a result of the recent elections, and newly elected members will be looking for cash from the state government to begin development initiatives.
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