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Corporation seeks to settle tax disputes through Lok Adalat, mop up revenue

Saturday, 09 November 2013 04:40 administrator
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The Hindu            09.11.2013

Corporation seeks to settle tax disputes through Lok Adalat, mop up revenue

Special Correspondent

In an attempt to recover tax dues mired in litigation, the Tiruchirapalli City Corporation has initiated steps to try and settle the cases through Lok Adalats to be held in courts across the district on November 23.

The Corporation has invited litigants who have filed cases against the civic body, especially those relating to tax disputes, for preliminary discussions ahead of the Lok Adalats. Accordingly, litigants who are willing to settle the disputes can appear at the offices of the Corporation Commissioner or Assistant Commissioners of the respective zones for discussions.

“Litigants can walk in between 3 and 5.45 p.m. between November 11 and 15. If they are willing for amicable settlements, subject to the rules of the Corporation, we will notify the Legal Services Authority for taking up the cases for resolution through the Lok Adalats,” said Corporation Commissioner V.P.Thandapani. Litigants can dial 7639566000 for more details, he said.

Over the past few months, the Corporation has been taking various steps to recover the tax dues mired in litigation.

In September, Mayor A. Jaya held a meeting with corporation officials and lawyers to tell them to try and go in for out-of-court settlements to realise the outstanding tax dues. According to Corporation sources, there were over 600 cases involving about Rs.18.24 crore of property tax assessments. The Corporation has recently initiated and settled several cases relating to non-tax dues.

 

Corporation intensifies drive to remove cables

Saturday, 09 November 2013 04:08 administrator
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The Hindu            09.11.2013

Corporation intensifies drive to remove cables

Illegal cables on streetlights maintained by the civic body in a number of areas were removed on Thursday and Friday —Photo: R. Ravindran
Illegal cables on streetlights maintained by the civic body in a number of areas were removed on Thursday and Friday —Photo: R. Ravindran

The Chennai Corporation has commenced a drive to remove illegal cables on streetlights in the city.

Cables on streetlights maintained by the Corporation on GST Road, Poonamallee High Road, Venkatnarayana Road and Triplicane High Road were removed on Friday. Illegal cables were also removed in Anna Nagar, Teynampet, Kodambakkam, Alandur and Adyar. A few roads in T. Nagar were covered on Thursday.

The Corporation will gradually expand the drive to remove underground cables that are inadequately covered and pose a risk to motorists and pedestrians. All such cables, present on many roads in the old city limits, will be removed in a few days,

“Many cables that posed a risk to pedestrians and vehicles in Triplicane were removed on Friday. The service providers should take measures to prevent disruption of services to residents,” said Mohammad Khadar, a resident of Triplicane.

Civic body employees who repair non-functional streetlights have been instructed to disconnect all cables without tags issued by the Corporation.

“The service providers have received tokens from the Chennai Corporation. As many as 2,000 km of cables have been tagged so far. The cables that are not tagged will be removed,” said a Corporation official.

The civic body will also impose a fine on agencies that use its facilities to provide support for cables without approval.

The civic body’s deadline for removal of cables was extended a number of times earlier. Telecom service providers and cable TV operators at a recent meeting had declared they would cooperate with the civic body in the removal of cables and ducting of underground optic fibre cables for road-laying work. However, the cables continue to be the biggest challenge to the completion of a number of civic infrastructure facilities.

A few months ago, the Corporation completed the collection of data from telecom service providers and cable TV operators to regulate such entities. A number of the operators and service providers have provided an updated list of stretches where they have laid cables. The civic body has planned to collect a revised track rent from the operators after making changes to underground infrastructure on bus routes and interior roads.

The initiative will also facilitate construction of cement concrete roads in the city. “The civic body is preparing estimates for laying 10,000 interior roads. The cement concrete roads will have at least a 1.5 feet dimension for ducting, and telecom service providers have also been asked to make suitable changes,” said the official.

 

Pondy Bazaar hawkers move to new corporation complex without a fuss

Friday, 08 November 2013 10:17 administrator
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The New Indian Express           08.11.2013

Pondy Bazaar hawkers move to new corporation complex without a fuss

A hawker-free pavement at Pondy Bazaar on Thursday, a day after all the encroachments were cleared following a Madras High Court directive | P Ravikumar
A hawker-free pavement at Pondy Bazaar on Thursday, a day after all the encroachments were cleared following a Madras High Court directive | P Ravikumar

Pondy Bazaar area in T Nagar looked wide and spacious after the hawkers who were occupying the pavements for several decades, moved to the Corporation Complex on Wednesday in compliance with the order of eviction.

All the street vendors have moved their wares into the new complex, but the shops are not yet ready for operation. Construction of the interiors is still going on and shop owners expect to have their stores fully functional in a week’s time.

“All the hawkers were cooperative and did not create a fuss to move to the new place,” said Vijayaragavan, an SI at the Pondy Bazaar Police Station.

“We are happy to move into this new space but we can only assess the benefit based on the response we receive in the next few months,” said Bukran Muhammed, whose father is one of the first persons to have set up shop on the pavement on Theyagaraya Road. Some vendors are skeptic that customers would not take the trouble of coming into the complex since most of the shopkeepers thrive on impulse buyers.

While many shopkeepers were busy getting their shops ready in the first and second floors of the complex, florists and fruit stall owners who were allocated space on the ground floor expressed discomfort.

“I have six persons working with me, but only two can stand inside the narrow four-square feet of space that was allocated,” complained Murugan, who runs a flower shop. He added that there was no proper system for garbage disposal.

Meanwhile, owners of stores on the Theyagaraya Road are happy that their establishments would gain visibility now that the pavement is cleared and would be easy to bring in stocks from suppliers.

“The hawkers were good people but their shop was a hindrance,” said a cloth merchant.

While aged people and residents at Theyagaraya Nagar are delighted about the spacious pathway, young shoppers feel that Pondy Bazaar would not be the same without hawkers.

 
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