COIMBATORE: The first monthly council meeting of the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) in 2025 was marked by protest and walkout by councillors of DMK’s allies Congress, CPI, and CPM.
Before the meeting began, councillors of Congress, CPI, CPM, and other parties staged a protest and raised slogans in the council hall against 6% hike in property tax, fine of 1% against late tax payers and drone survey of buildings for the tax revision.
The councillors demanded the CCMC to revoke the tax hike and other charges and stop the drone survey immediately. Similarly, opposition AIADMK councillors, holding drones in their hands staged a protest against the survey.
The CCMC council has a strength of 100 councillors with 73 from DMK, 3 from AIADMK, one individual (SDPI) and the rest from alliance parties. The meeting was presided over by Mayor K Ranganayaki alongside commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran and deputy mayor R Vetriselvan.
DMK councillors, zonal chairpersons and standing committee chairpersons tried to pacify the protestors, but in vain. Later, the councillors staged a walkout shouting slogans against the tax hike.
Once the meeting began after their walkout, a couple of DMK councillors urged the mayor to suspend those who staged the protest.
CCMC Central Zone Chairperson Meena Logu slammed the protestors by pointing out that they demanded funds for development works in their wards but oppose it when government hikes taxes to generate revenue for the works.
Amid the commotion, the mayor passed all the 89 resolutions tabled in the meeting without debate or discussion. The resolutions include extending the contract period for the private company that has been handling the solid waste management works in the city. This is the third time the CCMC has extended the contract despite numerous complaints filed against the private company.