Rs 2.50 crore incentive given to property owners

Chennai: According to a Chennai Corporation official, there are close to 12 lakh buildings in the city. Owners of 1.96 lakh buildings paid their taxes for the first half of the current financial year between April 1 and April 15.

A few years ago, the GCC had introduced incentives of 5 per cent or a maximum of Rs 5,000 for the property owners, who pay their taxes on time. In total, more than Rs 116 Crore has been collected in the 15 days. On Friday alone (till 5 pm), around Rs 11 crore was collected.

Presently, the civic body has asked property owners to pay taxes as per the old rates as the new revision will only be affected after gathering public opinion. The difference amount will be collected after ratifying the government order.

Property owners, who missed the deadline can pay their taxes after April 15 but with a 2 per cent penalty of the total tax amount.

The civic body had kept its counters and online portal on Thursday and Friday (both public holidays) to ensure collection. However, some field staff complained that the online payment system was slow throughout the day.