Mammoth UGD charges upset Coimbatore residents

Residents across Coimbatore city are reporting alarmingly high Under Ground Drainage (UGD) user charges on the civic body's online payment portal, with demands for some properties extending into lakhs of rupees.
Coimbatore Corporation had recently passed a resolution stipulating revised monthly UGD user charges, to be assessed based on the size of buildings. As per the revised structure, residential buildings up to 600 sq.ft. are to be charged ₹120 per month; 601 to 1,200 sq.ft. at ₹150; 1,201 to 1,800 sq.ft. at ₹180; 1,801 to 3,500 sq.ft. at ₹210; 3,501 to 5,000 sq.ft. at ₹250; 5,001 to 10,000 sq.ft. at ₹280; and properties above 10,000 sq.ft. at ₹300 per month.
However, several residents have discovered significantly inflated figures on the citizen web portal, where property taxes are also managed.
P. Srinivasan, a resident of Gandhipark, said, 'The Corporation recently provided me with the UGD connection book, similar to property and water tax documents. Although no payment demand was explicitly made, I checked my account online and was shocked. My building falls within the 1,801 to 3,500 sq.ft. slab, which, as per the newly proposed ₹210 per month, would only amount to approximately ₹22,680 from 2017 to 2025. Yet, the portal shows a demand of ₹3,30,000.'
A similar situation was reported by a resident in Nanjundapuram. For an 1,100 sqft building, the expected charge for nine years (at ₹150 per month) should be ₹16,200. However, the total displayed demand was ₹1,36,000.
K. Kathirmathiyon, secretary of the Coimbatore Consumer Cause, emphasised the need for clarity. 'The State government must clarify the basis on which these charges are calculated, as there is a complete lack of transparency. Given that there were no regular monthly charges for paid UGD previously, when the civic body begins collection, it should be well-prepared to avoid such errors,' he stated.
According to a senior Corporation official, any reported discrepancies will be investigated. They aim to ascertain if these are isolated cases or part of a wider problem, with steps taken to resolve them.

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