MADURAI: The Tamil Nadu State Election Commission (TNSEC) has announced that elections to fill five vacant zonal and two standing committee chairperson posts in the Madurai City Corporation will be conducted through indirect polls on September 24.
According to a recent notification, elections will be held to appoint five zonal chairpersons and the chairpersons of two important committees: the Taxation Committee and the Town Planning Committee. The schedule states that meeting notices must be issued by September 16. A mandatory statutory interval will then be observed from September 17 to 23. The elections themselves will take place during meetings convened on September 24.
These positions became vacant following a major tax fraud case that was uncovered last year. In August 2024, an audit revealed irregularities in property tax assessments. This prompted the city corporation to issue notices and suspend five bill collectors.
Investigators later found that the officials had allegedly misused their login credentials for the Urban Tree Information System (UTIS) to tamper with property tax data. A criminal case was registered in September 2024 under the direction of the then Corporation Commissioner, Dinesh Kumar. The subsequent police investigation found that the fraud had caused a large-scale revenue loss for the civic body. It was reported that tax amounts had been illegally reduced for more than 150 properties across the city. The investigation also brought certain zonal chairpersons and councillors under scrutiny.
After the tax fraud came to light, leaders of the DMK party directed all five zonal chairpersons and the two standing committee chairpersons to resign. In July, the office bearers—Vasuki Sasikumar (Madurai East), Saravana Bhuvaneshwari (Madurai North), Pandi Selvi (Madurai Central), Mugesh Sharma (Madurai South), and V. Suvitha (Madurai West)—stepped down. They were joined by K. Vijayalakshmi of the Taxation Committee and J Moovendran of the Town Planning Committee.
Party sources have indicated that the DMK will select its candidates for the posts after the official notices are served. So far, potential candidates have not yet expressed their interest. One of the former zonal chairpersons told reporters that they had no role in the fraud but resigned following the party's directive. “We have submitted evidence to party leaders and hope we may be considered again during the upcoming selection process,” the former office-bearer said.
The meeting on September 24 is expected to finalize the candidates for these key posts. The corporation has been functioning without zonal leaders and the heads of its two main committees for the past two months.