Veeraswami, C.J.- This appeal arises from an order of Kailasam, J., allowing the first respondent’s petition under Article 226 of the Constitution and directing the appellant, which is the Corporation of Madras, to apply for sanction of the State Government as provided for in section 102 proviso (a) of the Madras City Municipal Corporation Act, 1919, for exemption of the whole of water and drainage tax and the lighting tax in West Mambalam area. The first respondent is a landlord residing in West Mambalam and is said to own four houses in different roads in the area. He complained that the West Mambalam area had been neglected and uncared for by the Corporation in providing water and drainage amenities, which has caused great inconvenience to the residents in the area. The demand notices served on the first respondent showed that the property tax was levied at the certain percentage of the annual value of the buildings and the tax included levy for water, drainage and lighting. The first respondent addressed the Corporation several letters about the neglect of the area and paid the tax for general purposes, lighting and cess ; but the portion of the tax relating to water and drainage he deducted and did not pay. In the circumstances, the Corporation, said the petitioner, was not entitled to collect property tax comprising of charges for water and drainage purposes and that section 99 itself was clear read with section 102 proviso (a) that the owners of property in the area would be entitled to exemption of tax in respect of non-provision of water and drainage facilities. On these premises, this Court was moved for a direction to the Corporation to exempt the 95th division, namely, the area of West Mambalam from liability to pay water and drainage tax till these facilities were extended to the area. The petition was resisted by the Corporation. It referred to the fact that drainage schemes for the area were being executed in stages and the Council of the Corporation had not considered the area for exemption and actually no proposal had been sent up by it for sanction of any such exemption. According to the Commissioner for the Corporation, if there was no water and drainage system provided in the area, alternate arrangements had been provided to render such services like water lorries to store street located tanks at important places and that such lorries fitted with pump system were also daily sent to remove the drainage and sullage water. On this account it was stated that the Corporation was incurring a huge expenditure. The Commissioner further maintained that the property tax was not related to the services rendered, but to meet the general cost of the municipal services rendered in and to the city, and, therefore, the demand of property tax in full was not illegal. Kailasam, J., on a consideration of the relative sections in the the Madras City Municipal Corporation Act, was of opinion that the Corporation was in law bound to apply to the State Government for exemption from payment of the whole of the water and drainage tax. The learned Judge accordingly gave the direction we mentioned earlier.

There is no dispute before us that as a matter of fact there is no water or drainage system provided so far by the Corporation in the West Mambalam area. But Mr. Chengalvaroyan, who appears for the appellant, contends that though the council has power to apply to the State Government for exemption, there is no compulsion or obligation that it should do so, notwithstanding the fact that a particular area is not provided with water or drainage system. He says that the property tax is levied inter alia for general purpose of maintaining the water and drainage system in the city in its entirety and any question of exemption for any particular area will have to be viewed only from that standpoint. On the other hand, for the first respondent the contention is that the Corporation in spite of several communications from him has not even ca

Click Here to Read the rest of this document