CHENNAI: The residents of Tambaram City Municipal Corporation (TCMC) have strongly opposed the hike in water connection deposit from Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,500.
They criticised the corporation for implementing the hike without a public consultation, placing an additional financial burden on middle-class and low-income households.
Several residents, along with activists, including SM Govindarajan, president of the United Federation of Residents Welfare Associations, have appealed to Chief Minister MK Stalin, Municipal Administration Minister KN Nehru, and TCMC commissioner S Balachander through X to revoke the revised charges.
Although the deposit is refunded at the time of surrendering the service connection, it has caught those from financially backward families off guard, said residents.
Govindarajan told TNIE that the deposit hike is unjustified, particularly given the unreliable water supply and ineffective installation of water meters. The residents asked the corporation to ensure a regulated quantity and duration of supply before hiking the deposit. VS Jayaraman, another resident, said that he, along with several others like V Santhanam, had made several attempts to oppose the revised deposits but no action was taken.
Commenting over the issue, TCMC AIADMK floor leader G Sankar told TNIE that the issue was raised several times in the council but nothing was done to address the concerns of the residents before going ahead with the revised deposits.
Responding to the concerns, corporation commissioner Balachander told TNIE that the increase was made as per the corporation’s by-law. “Residents are not required to pay the revised charges in one go; they can opt for two or three instalments to ease the financial impact on them,” he stated.