Chennai: Tamil Nadu alliance of resident welfare associations (TNARWA) urged the state govt to launch a transparent statewide audit of residential and commercial buildings. They claimed large-scale property tax evasion and corrupt assessment practices caused revenue losses worth hundreds of crores of rupees. The federation demanded regular inspections of properties owned by MLAs, councillors and other political functionaries. They also sought strict action against both tax evaders and revenue officials who failed to carry out fair assessments.“The state’s worsening financial condition and the challenge of implementing several welfare promises announced by the present govt make it necessary to plug revenue leakages at the earliest. Property tax collection has remained neglected, with assessments allegedly manipulated for years in favour of influential persons and politically connected property owners,” said D Neelakannan, president of TNARWA.The association demanded that the govt constitute an independent expert committee to examine whether property tax assessments carried out in previous years for residential and commercial buildings across the state were fair and properly implemented. The inspection process should be conducted through a fully digital and transparent mechanism to prevent interference and corruption.“The govt should appoint honest officials and social service representatives to oversee the audit instead of relying solely on revenue department staff. Such inspections would expose shocking levels of tax manipulation and reveal how the state lost hundreds of crores in potential revenue,” said J M S Nagarjunan, general secretary of the association. The federation further demanded that building owners found guilty of tax evasion be ordered to pay double the tax for the previous 10 years, while revenue officials who failed to conduct fair assessments should face immediate suspension.
