CHENNAI: With over Rs 650 crore earned so far, Greater Chennai Corporation has netted a record total in property tax collection for the fiscal 2016-17.

According to revenue department
officials of the civic body, the city’s 11.70 lakh assessees have
contributed a little over Rs 654 crore so far, enabling the corporation
to surpass its property tax collection target for the year. The sum
collected so far also represents an increase of around Rs 70 crore from the last year.

Together with professional tax
revenue, which crossed the Rs 240-crore mark, the collection is a
significant increase in revenue generated by the local body. The
professional tax collected so far is an increase of over 10% from the
last year’s figures. And with five more days to go before the end of the
financial year, officials expect to add on to these numbers by a
sizeable margin. “We expect to collect another Rs 20-25 crore property
tax. The last two days are frantic usually because assessees turn up in
huge numbers to pay their dues,” said an official.

Despite a setback during cyclone Vardah, officials said they “worked
hard”, although there was staff shortage, to meet the target of Rs 650
crore set in the local body’s budget document. Meanwhile, the central
government’s move to demonetise high value currencies in November 2016
also came as a blessing in disguise for the corporation.