Deccan Chronicle 11.11.2009

New secretariat may eat up 300 mansions

Chennai, Nov. 10: Mansions, which are unique features of Chennai and let out cheap monthly rooms to film aspirants and bachelors may soon be a thing of the past. Over 300 mansions — all located in Triplicane near Anna Salai — fall within the high security zone around the upcoming new secretariat and so they will soon cease to exist, according to sources in the government. Chennai Corporation recently hiked the property tax of the mansions several times.

“The tax on one of my mansions is hiked four times. For another mansion, the tax is hiked two times, but with retrospective effect from 2007-08. More than 250 mansions in and around Triplicane got notices on this unprecedented hike. Our association will take up this issue with the government and if it forces closure of mansions, the Opposition parties will take up the issue,” Mr S.M.K. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who is owner of Maha mansions, told this newspaper.

A senior official of the revenue department said the government has been contemplating a move by which the mansions could be ‘relocated’.
However, Chennai mayor M. Subramanian said the “hike in tax” was aimed at increasing the "revenue" of the corporation. “If there are problems in the method any property was measured, we are ready to re-assess them,” he said.

Some officials in the secretariat said the relocation of mansions would be ‘smooth.’

“The owners will be paid compensation or will be asked to convert their property into residential property,” said a senior official, requesting anonymity.

“With the economic slowdown, many bachelors who worked in the Information Technology sector vacated their rooms. This has led to less than 60 per cent occupancy in all the man-sions,”charged Mr S. Dastagir, secretary, mansion owners’ association, Chennai, adding “Unaffordable property tax hike at this point seems to be an indirect attempt to close down the mansions.”

Some owners aver that the corporation revenue officials measured the mansions wrongly and without any prior information.

“My mansion is 3,600 square feet. They sent a tax notice for 6,840 square feet. The area of some mansions is exaggerated more than two times,” said Mr S.A. Malick, who is also treasurer of the mansion owners’ association.

The Hindu 11.11.2009

Phase I to cover 11 towns, cities

Special Correspondent

TIRUCHI: The Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Project (TURIP) will be executed is six package covering 11 towns and cities in the State in the first phase, according to R.Gayathri, Assistant Vice President, Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited (TNUIFSL).

While Alandur and Valasaravakkam come under the first package, the second package will cover Thanjavur, Karur and Mayiladuthurai. Karur, Tirupur and Inam Karur would come under the third package.

Tiruchi, Madurai and Tirunelveli will be covered under the fourth, fifth and sixth packages, she told reporters.

Design consultants, who will also monitor the execution of the project, have been appointed for all the packages.

The massive project would be implemented in the entire State in phases.

Under the first phase, towns and cities where the underground drainage scheme has already been completed have been taken up, Ms.Gayathri said.

A separate fund _ Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Fund (TURIF) _ has been created for implementation with an annual allocation of Rs.1,000 crore. The TNUIFSL is the fund manager of TURIF.

The fund will have multiple financial sources including a portion from the assigned revenue payable to the municipalities and corporation on account of surcharge on stamp duty, a portion of devolution due to the local bodies, issue of bonds and other market borrowings.

Fifty per cent of the project cost would be given as grants to the local bodies and the remaining 50 per cent would be extended as interest-free loans.

Designing

The first nine months of the project would be devoted for designing the works and the project execution would be done in the following 18 months, Ms.Gayathri said.