CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has observed that the infrastructure facilities provided to the citizens are not commensurate with the steadily increasing tax and other charges of essential services.
A division bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and Rajesh Vivekanandan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by Saju Alex, a Chennai resident. The petition sought directions to the local civic authorities, including the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), to remove encroachments, illegal parking, and workshops obstructing Scheme Road and footpath at Ellaiyamman Colony in Teynampet, Chennai.
Collection of property tax, water tax, licence fee etc. by the GCC mandates them to provide services to the people residing in the city. It is a corresponding duty vested on the authorities and failure on their part has to be viewed seriously, it said.
“On the one hand, the property taxes, electricity charges, infrastructure charges, planning permission charges and other statutory levies are being enhanced periodically. On the other hand, the services provided by the corporation, such as laying of good motorable roads, provision of encroachment-free footpaths, and other basic amenities essential for public health and well-being of the citizens residing in Chennai, are found to be grossly inadequate,” the bench said in a recent order. It stated that such a situation warrants serious consideration and immediate attention on the part of the government as well as the GCC.
The authorities would pounce with coercive action on ordinary citizens when they fail to remit property tax or electricity charges by disconnecting the services. Such alacrity is not shown in discharging their corresponding duty to provide better civic infrastructure, including encroachment-free footpaths and other minimum basic facilities, the bench noted.
The court criticised the authorities for being slack in taking action to identify strategically important places and removing encroachments, and granted two weeks’ time to file an action taken report.
Advocate VBR Menon was appearing for the petitioner.