Madras High Court raps Chennai Corporation for acting swiftly against citizens who default on property tax while the roads and footpaths it provides in return remain grossly inadequate.
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Chennai: The Madras High Court has criticised the Greater Chennai Corporation, observing that property tax and other levies are raised periodically while motorable roads and encroachment-free footpaths remain grossly inadequate in the city, and has granted two weeks to the authorities to file an action taken report on the steps proposed [Saju Alex v. The Zonal Officer and Others].
A Division Bench of Justice S.M. Subramaniam and Justice R. Rajesh Vivekananthan passed the order on October 5, 2026, in a writ petition seeking removal of encroachments and a stop to illegal parking and unauthorised automobile repair work on a scheme road in Ellaiamman Colony, Teynampet, where the petitioner’s residential building stands.
The case
The petitioner, Saju Alex, sought a writ of mandamus directing the Zonal Officer of the Greater Chennai Corporation and the traffic police to remove encroachments and stop illegal parking and unauthorised repair work allegedly carried out on the road by a private respondent. The Chief Secretary and the Principal Secretary, Home Department, had earlier been impleaded by the Court on its own motion on February 25, 2026.
The Court had issued directions on April 28, 2025 for action against the encroachments and illegal parking. At the hearing on October 5, the Bench found that those directions had not been properly followed and that the authorities had been seeking long adjournments.
What the Court said
The Bench observed that the Corporation collects property tax and other levies, in return for which it is expected to provide civic services, but that the services actually provided are grossly inadequate. It noted that the authorities act quickly against citizens who fail to pay taxes but do not show the same urgency in providing civic infrastructure such as encroachment-free footpaths.
On the pattern of repeated adjournments, the Court said:
Such practice, at no circumstances be encouraged by this Court.
The directions
The Bench expected the authorities to identify strategically important locations and clear encroachments on footpaths there. It granted two weeks to file an action taken report together with the proposed action for providing better infrastructure and encroachment-free footpaths for the benefit of people residing in and around Chennai. The matter is listed on October 26, 2026.
Why the order matters
The order links the civic obligation to the tax that funds it. By asking for an action taken report that identifies priority locations, the Court has moved the matter from a single street dispute towards a city-wide accounting of footpath and road conditions, which the Corporation will have to answer on the next date.
Case Title: Saju Alex v. The Zonal Officer and Others [WP No. 7504 of 2026]
Bench: Justice S.M. Subramaniam and Justice R. Rajesh Vivekananthan, Madras High Court
Date of Order: October 5, 2026
Appearances: Mr. V.B.R. Menon for the petitioner; Mr. D.B.R. Prabhu, Standing Counsel, for the Corporation; Mr. M. Dinesh, Government Advocate (Criminal Side), for the police respondents; Mr. G. Abraham Prabhu, Additional Government Pleader, for the Chief Secretary and the Principal Secretary, Home Department