COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) has decided to defer revise charges for UGD connections following opposition from members of the council.
During the monthly meeting on Thursday, most of the councillors opposed the civic body's move stating that the charges were high. Accepting their request, Mayor Kalpana Anandakumar postponed the decision.
Speaking at the meeting, ward 44 councillor Gayathri said, "The tax is high, it doesn't matter if it is collected in instalments or as single payment. The council must reconsider and revise the charge."
Ward 12 councillor Ramamoorthy said, "Why such urgency in revising UGD charges? Property tax was hiked recently. At least let that sink in and then we can change the UGD charge."
C Santhi, councillor of ward 41, said, " Even I wouldn't opt for a UGD connection because the charges are high, let alone insisting other people in my area pay for it. People are already burdened with high property tax, and no one will pay if we increase the UGD charge."
Further, several councillors demanded that officials address issues in water distribution in residential areas and fix leaking pipelines as soon as possible.
Ward 98 councillor Udhayakumar had a heated exchange with a CCMC official in regard to sinking five borewells in his ward, after which the Mayor sanctioned five borewells to the ward.
Of the 100 councillors, two were absent from the meeting, with ward councillor Nivedha being absent from the past three meetings. A total of 32 resolutions were passed in the meeting.