MADURAI: Deputy mayor T Nagarajan on Friday said the corporation is considering legal action against people who recently circulated social media posts about the city's low ranking in Swachh Survekshan 2024-25.
Speaking to reporters, Nagarajan called the posts were "deliberate slander" aimed at damaging the civic body's image."The corporation is implementing new sanitation measures, but the ranking being circulated is outdated and misleading. Over the past few months, we have upgraded waste collection, drain maintenance, and street-cleaning systems. We will be considering legal action against those spreading misinformation." he said, adding "The 'dirty city' tag lacks official data or methodology. It's politically motivated."
Nagarajan further said the conflict between the private solid waste management contractor and sanitation workers had affected cleaning work. The issues have been resolved by the corporation and work is being carried out properly, he added.
The civic body has proposed a series of tax reforms to support small businesses, including shifting property tax assessments for MSMEs from commercial to residential rates. The current fixed garbage tax for small shops will also be replaced with a levy calculated as a percentage of property tax, reducing the burden on local traders.
Stating that Madurai's century-old sewage network remains a major challenge, Nagarajan said the long-term fix would require massive allocation of funds. As a short-term measure, mini-pumping stations are being installed in flood-prone wards.
The corporation's immediate focus is desilting the 888-km of storm water drains built under the Rs 287-crore Smart City project, he added.