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.