The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Take up projects announced earlier: Opposition

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 26, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Take up projects announced earlier: Opposition

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, FEB. 25. Opposition members in the Chennai Corporation criticised the civic agency's budget for 2005-06 for not following up on several schemes announced in the last three yearsof the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led council.

The council met at Ripon Buildings today to discuss the budget tabled on Wednesday.

The six-hour session was marked by heated exchanges. The entire Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) contingent was evicted after they objected to references made by AIADMK councillor P. Vetrivel against the DMK MLA and former Minister, Arcot N. Veerasamy. The Congress walked out protesting the Deputy Mayor R. Thiagarajan's decision to retain Mr. Vetrivel's diatribe against the DMK. Only one DMK councillor was able to speak on the budget before the councillors were evicted.

The Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) picked on projects that never took off.

In his 2003-04 budget speech, the Deputy Mayor announced that a high-level committee, headed by the Chief Minister, would look into controlling the mosquito menace in the city; a `tax-mapping' scheme, which would use satellite imagery, to help the civic agency double its revenue from property tax; a Rs. 10-crore project to help conserve Ripon Buildings and a housing project for conservancy workers.

Responding to the criticism, AIADMK councillors defended the budget stating that the capital works to the tune of Rs. 209 crores was targeted for the current year: an all-time high. The party's floor leader V. Sukumar Babu said: ``the previous DMK-led regime spent Rs. 164 crores for interior roads from 1996 to 2001. We have spent Rs. 216 crores in the last three years alone.''

The budget estimates loans to the tune of Rs.120 crores to be taken from Government organisations and banks this year. ``What is the logic behind borrowing so much and yet projecting a surplus budget,'' asked the Congress floor leader, R. Mano.

The AIADMK member Rajendra Babu said surplus budget was decided on only after setting proper targets. ``Why pick holes in the budget statement when there has been improvement in all spheres? It does not matter much if the budget is deficit or surplus,'' he said.

North Chennai projects

Cutting across party lines, the councillors urged the administration to execute projects promised for North Chennai.

The BJP floor leader P.S.S. Dhanushkodi, whose division covers New Washermanpet, cited several projects for North Chennai — including a pedestrian subway at Basin Bridge Junction and a vehicular subway at Mint Junction — that had been put in cold storage despite getting administrative sanction more than six years ago.

``If North Chennai suffers any more neglect, there will be a time when we will start demanding a separate budget for the area just to follow up the projects.''

The AIADMK councillor R. Pratap Kumar said the civic agency must impress upon the Government to expedite the completion of the Perambur flyover.

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