MADURAI: Two days after Madurai Mayor V. Indirani Ponvasanth tendered her resignation citing personal and family reasons, the Madurai Corporation Council on Friday formally accepted it during a special meeting convened at the Anna Maligai Council Hall.
Indirani had submitted her resignation to Corporation Commissioner Chitra Vijayan on Wednesday. The letter was tabled before the council for approval on Friday morning.
The special meeting, chaired by Deputy Mayor T. Nagarajan and attended by Commissioner Chitra Vijayan, commenced around 10.20 a.m.
Nagarajan then announced that the mayor’s resignation had been accepted without objection from the council members. With that, the meeting was adjourned, formally bringing Indirani’s tenure as Mayor of Madurai to an end.
The resignation comes against the backdrop of an ongoing probe into large-scale property tax irregularities that rocked the Corporation last year.
In 2024, complaints surfaced that property taxes for several commercial establishments under the civic body had been fixed below the rates prescribed by the government. Acting on these allegations, then Commissioner Dinesh Kumar complained to the Central Crime Branch (CCB), triggering an investigation.
The preliminary inquiry revealed that the under-assessment had resulted in a revenue loss of several crores to the civic administration, sparking statewide criticism. The issue soon turned political, with the AIADMK staging protests demanding action against those responsible.
Subsequently, five zonal chairpersons and two standing committee chairpersons resigned, reportedly following directions from Chief Minister M.K. Stalin earlier this year.
Mayor's husband Ponvasanth, arrested on August 12, was released on bail on October 9 after spending nearly two months in judicial custody.