MADURAI: On Tuesday, the Madras High Court instructed the commissioner of the Madurai Corporation to set up special teams to verify the property tax assessments of all buildings within Madurai city.
Following a previous order, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Deputy Inspector General of Police, Abhinav Kumar, has been formed to investigate the property tax scam in Madurai Corporation.
The state reported that the SIT’s investigation has gained momentum. The team has also requested property tax assessment data from the past ten years from the Director of Municipal Administration to conduct a thorough examination.
A division bench, comprising Justice S.M. Subramaniam and Justice G. Arul Murugan, noted in court that the petitioner highlighted the issue of undervaluation of buildings for tax assessment, which raises concerns about potential misappropriation of corporation funds.
Thus, the judges directed the corporation commissioner to establish special teams to ensure accurate property tax assessments in accordance with the Act. The court has postponed further proceedings to Wednesday (August 20) for the commissioner to present a report on the formation of these teams.
The court’s order came during a public interest litigation filed by T. Ravi, an AIADMK councillor from Ward 83 of Madurai Corporation. The petitioner claimed that a large-scale scam in property tax assessment surfaced in 2024, implicating several officials and zonal chairpersons, resulting in a revenue loss exceeding ₹200 crore for the corporation.
Ravi remarked that while police have acted against less influential individuals, those with political clout remain untouched. Consequently, he has petitioned the court for a CBI inquiry into the scam.
In a previous hearing, the court emphasized that a scam of this scale necessitates an investigation by an IPS officer, overseen by higher authorities to prevent any omissions, ensuring that all responsible parties are prosecuted.
