It has been six years since the Greater Chennai Corporation launched its geographic information system-based building reassessment drive, yet almost 80% of the buildings with deviations are yet to be reassessed.The GCC had appointed Darashaw and Company Private Limited, which identified 3,10,139 buildings with deviations for reassessment and re-measurement. Of this, the corporation has remeasured only 60,000 buildings. Of those remeasured, only 30,000 buildings have been reassessed and added to property tax’s fold.As a result, the corporation is losing ₹250 to 300 crore of revenue, which is about 20% of its annual property tax value.
Revenue officials blamed the delay on diversion of work force to other tasks like Covid-19, elections, monsoon and welfare schemes like ‘Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai’ drive.
“This is adversely affecting the field assessments done by revenue officers. First, they have to inspect the building, measure it, correlate it with GIS mapping and finalise the deviations. Some owners may go to court against our reassessment,” said a revenue official, who did not want to be named.
K Dhanasekaran, standing committee chairman, accounts department, said universities, marriage halls and commercial buildings were the biggest violators. “Some universities got building approval decades ago but what construction happens inside their compound later on is not seen from outside. GCC officers too do not go inside frequently to measure or assess them. This leads to several crore loss for GCC,” he said.
Dhanasekaran said the corporation should form a special team to survey the buildings and must not rely on its GCC manpower, who have other daily routine works. “The commissioner should review the under-assessed buildings zone-wise and expedite the drive,” he said.
Deputy commissioner (revenue and finance) R Lalitha said the drive would resume soon. “We will review and expedite the works,” she said.