Coimbatore Corporation council okays property tax hike amid protests  

COIMBATORE: It was a marathon day for councillors as 64 resolutions were taken up for discussion in Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) council meeting on Thursday. Several councillors resented it and AIADMK councillors staged a walkout as the resolutions were increased to 64 from 13 overnight.

Corporation Commissioner Raja Gopal Sunkara and 14 Councillors were absent in the meeting that was presided by Mayor Kalpana Anandakumar alongside deputy commissioner Dr M Sharmila and deputy mayor Vetriselvan.

Ward 72 councillor Selvaraj said it was unfair on the part of the council to increase the number of resolutions and that they had no time to study and discuss them.

When the property tax hike resolution came up for distribution, all DMK councillors remained tight-lipped. However, allies CPI, CPM, Congress and MDMK opposed it.  Ward 5 councillor Naveen of Congress urged the council to reconsider the decision and postpone it to some other day.

CPM's Ramamoorthy of ward 12 said, "We're ok with hiking the tax. But all that we are asking now is not to increase it at this meeting and postpone it to some other day. We all can sit and discuss about it in detail and then pass it later."

Some councillors also suggested increasing it by 15-20% instead of 25 to 100%. Shanthi, CPI councillor from ward 41 made heads turn when she warned that DMK might not get even 4 MPs in Lok Sabha elections in 2024 if taxes are hiked.  

"We have to face people in two years. Even our mayor used to live in a rented house. So she would know the problem better. After the tax hike, rent will increase drastically and people will suffer more. Of course people will pay the tax now. But this will reflect in the election. The government which now has 40 MPs will not even get 4 MPs if we pass it. We are speaking for DMK councillors too as we are very aware that they can't speak against it," she concluded.

However, Mayor Kalpana disappointed everyone in a two word - Resolution passed, which irked other councillors. As on 8.30 pm, about 35 of the 64 resolutions were passed.