Councillors engaged in heated argument at a Corporation council meeting held in Tirunelveli on Monday.
| Photo Credit: A. SHAIKMOHIDEEN
Following intense opposition from public and councillors, the Corporation adjourned its decision to hike drinking water tax and deposit for underground drainage (UGD) connection.
The Corporation, despite resistance from the councillors, had tabled its proposals for 300% hike in drinking water tax and 800% hike in UGD deposits in Monday’s council meeting. As per the new proposal, the hitherto Rs. 100 a month drinking water tax had been revised in seven slabs based on the plinth area of the building.
Moreover, the monthly drinking water tax and the underground drainage charges will see 3% hike every year, as per the proposals.
“This is atrocious and violence on the residents. These proposals fleecing the residents should be dropped unconditionally,” said Pavulraj, a former DMK councillor who participated in the council meeting with his mouth gagged with a black cloth, while CPI (M) councillor Muthusubramanian expressed his dissent with a placard.
As all the councillors were against this move, Mayor G. Ramakrishnan was forced to adjourn these proposals.
Even before the council meeting was held on Monday, the agenda empowering the Corporation to fix high drinking water and UGD tax and deposit were shared on social media and came under sharp criticism by the members of residents’ welfare associations and traders’ bodies. Office-bearers of the residents’ welfare associations even personally met their councillors to express concern over the Corporation’s decision to steeply hike the taxes and deposits.
“Most of the residents warned the councillors that they should not come to their area to canvas votes in the upcoming Assembly election if the Corporation adopts the proposal on increasing the taxes. So, we passed on this adverse sentiments of the public to the Mayor and the officials. Hence, they have adjourned this proposal, only for now. Anyway, the proposal will be unilaterally adopted after the Assembly election by the Commissioner for Municipal Administration even if the council is against it. So, today’s adjournment is nothing but hoodwinking the people,” said a DMK councillor. Councillors Rasool Maideen and Jegan endorsed his views.
The councillors also urged the Corporation to replace the ‘poor quality UGD pipes’ developing frequent fractures and allowing sewage to mix with the drinking water.
Even as the councillors were raising this issue, AIADMK member Muthulakshmi and her husband came towards the Mayor’s seat with bottles containing badly contaminated drinking water allegedly supplied in her ward.
Mr. Ramakrishnan said the councillors alone could raise any issue pertaining to their ward in the council meeting even as other DMK councillors also supported the Mayor. With the resistance mounting, the councillor’s husband left the council meeting hall.
The meeting also decided to ban piercing of the roadside trees for placing advertisements and fine violators.
Published – November 10, 2025 09:08 pm IST
